Courtesy: Geo News/Reuters/AFP
US President Donald Trump on Monday seemingly predicated an emerging Iran peace deal on Muslim-majority nations across the Middle East and beyond normalising relations with Israel.
This brand new demand came on the heels of a potential memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran to end the war on all fronts and potentially lift oil waivers.
It is worth noting that the nations named by Trump, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have traditionally advocated for a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel as a precursor to any discussions on the normalisation of relations with Israel.
In a lengthy social media post, Trump listed countries whose leaders he spoke with on Saturday about efforts to end the war with Iran.
“After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these countries, at a minimum, simultaneously sign onto the Abraham Accords,” he wrote.
“Those countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (already a Member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain (already a Member!)”
The Abraham Accords are a set of agreements brokered under Trump in 2020 and govern the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Israel and countries that have historically been hostile to it. They, however, remain unpopular among the public in many parts of the region, not least because they do not tackle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this settlement with Iran a far more historic event than it would otherwise be,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
“It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit. If they don’t, they should not be part of this deal in that it shows bad intention.”
A day prior, US Senator Lindsey Graham — a close ally of Trump and a staunch supporter of Israel — wrote on X that if Arab and Muslim nations would join the Abraham Accords as part of the Iran deal, it would herald “one of the most consequential [agreements] in the history of the Middle East”, but warned that refusal to join would render an agreement “unacceptable”.
“Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords would be beyond transformative for the region and world. It is a brilliant move by President Trump,” Graham added.
He said, “Now is the time to be bold for the future of a new Middle East,” expecting Arab and Muslim nations to join the Accords, “effectively ending the Arab-Israeli conflict”.
“If you refuse to go down this path as suggested by President Trump, it will have severe repercussions for our future relationships and make this peace proposal unacceptable. Further, it would be seen by history as a major miscalculation,” he warned.
Pakistan is continuing its efforts to revive the stalled Iran-US peace process after plans for a second round of negotiations in Islamabad fell through last month.
Trump on Wednesday said talks in Iran were in the final stages, and also threatened to resume strikes if a deal is not reached in a “limited timeframe”.
However, over the weekend, he said that a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal had been “largely negotiated” with Iran and would open the Strait of Hormuz, with details to be unveiled soon.
Meanwhile, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir undertook a high-stakes visit to Tehran over the weekend.
The two-day visit marked the most consequential mediation effort since the direct talks hosted by Pakistan last month. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Field Marshal Munir had held “high-level engagements” with the Iranian leadership “as part of ongoing mediation efforts aimed at promoting de-escalation and constructive engagement”.
“The discussions remained focused upon expediting the consultative process underway to support peace and stability in the region and to reach a conclusive agreement,” ISPR said in a statement. “The intensive negotiations over the last twenty-four hours have resulted in encouraging progress towards a final understanding.”
The CDF met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni. The statement stopped short of announcing any breakthrough, but midnight media reports suggested that an agreement was within reach.
Since the opening strikes by the US and Israel on Iran on February 28, Tehran has launched retaliatory missile strikes at US bases in neighbouring Gulf states, prompting a broadening of the conflict.
A ceasefire was agreed upon with the help of mediators Pakistan, on April 8, before being extended indefinitely on April 21 at Islamabad’s request, hours before it was due to expire.
A congressional report detailed that over the course of its military campaign, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, the US lost 42 aircraft, including fighter jets and support planes.