U.S. President Donald Trump has called on all Middle Eastern nations to join the Abraham Accords, following the weakening of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ and redrawing of regional power dynamics.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear arsenal had been “totally obliterated” following weeks of U.S. and Israeli military strikes.
“Now that the nuclear arsenal being ‘created’ by Iran has been totally OBLITERATED, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern Countries join the Abraham Accords,” he wrote.
“This will insure PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” he added in capital letters.
Trump’s latest push for further normalisation with Israel comes as discussions of redrawn regional dynamics in the Middle East gather momentum.
France, Britain and Canada have pledged support for a demilitarised Palestinian state, framed as a step towards peace.
At the same time, speculation is growing over a possible Israeli annexation of Gaza and the forced displacement of its population.
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Abraham Accords
The Abraham Accords were launched in September 2020 during Trump’s presidency. The first countries to sign were the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.
Morocco and Sudan later joined the agreements, which were aimed at normalising diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.
In exchange, the U.S. offered incentives such as arms sales, investment packages, and recognition of disputed territorial claims.
Saudi Arabia was also in talks to join the accords, but a final deal was not reached before Trump left office in January 2021.
Trump and his allies presented the Abraham Accords as a major foreign policy achievement and a path to Middle East peace without involving the Palestinians.
However, Palestinians overwhelmingly rejected the agreements. The agreements were seen as a betrayal that side-lined the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and legitimised apartheid.
Resistance groups, civil society organisations, and much of the Arab public accused the normalising regimes of abandoning Palestinian rights in return for American favour.
In his latest statement, Trump once again positioned Iran as the main obstacle to expanding the accords.
“We have some really great countries in there right now, and I think we are going to start loading them up, because Iran was the primary problem,” he said previously.
The Iranian obstacle
The renewed push for normalisation comes in the wake of a sharp escalation between Israel and Iran in June.
Israeli airstrikes targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks on Israel.
The U.S. intervened with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, describing the action as pre-emptive self-defence.
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect on June 24, with Washington asserting that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “permanently degraded.”
Iranian officials condemned the attacks as illegal and claimed their nuclear programme remained peaceful. Tehran warned of consequences if aggression continued.
Despite these tensions, Trump has declared that Iran’s nuclear threat has been “neutralised,” paving the way for expanded normalisation with Israel.
There has been no public response from any Arab government to Trump’s latest remarks. However, reports suggest that backchannel talks with several states are ongoing.
He has repeatedly highlighted the Abraham Accords as a key part of his foreign policy legacy, contrasting them with what he calls Joe Biden’s “weak leadership.”
However, since the accords were signed, Israel has continued building settlements in the occupied West Bank, demolishing Palestinian homes, and launching military operations in Gaza.
Palestinians say normalisation has emboldened Israel’s right-wing government and weakened pressure for a two-state solution or international accountability.
The agreement is widely seen not as a justified peace deal, but as a reward for Israel’s ongoing oppression and violence against Palestinians.
