Trump Makes Abraham Accords Mandatory For Landmark Iran Peace Settlement Participation | NXW

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:03]We start now today with some comments from US President Donald Trump. He has now tying the highly anticipated peace deal with Iran directly to a massive expansion of the Abraham Accords. In a sweeping post on Truth Social, the president revealed he told leaders from eight major nations over the weekend that joining the normalization pact with Israel is now a mandatory condition to participate in the ultimate settlement with Thran. Trump explicitly singled out Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan, asserting that they must simultaneously sign the accords as a reward for intense American diplomatic efforts to solve the region's complex conflict. The president warned that any country refusing to sign would display bad intentions and forfeit their part in the landmark deal. In an extraordinary geopolitical proposal, Trump added that he wants to bring the Islamic Republic of Iran into the Abraham Accords as well, claiming the move would create an unparalleled, united, and economically dominant Middle East. US negotiators have reportedly been instructed to begin the expanding to begin the expanded signing process immediately. The Abraham Accords are a series of historic agreements brokered by the United States that established normalized diplomatic, economic, and security relations between Israel and several Arab nations. Signed in 2020, they marked the first norm the first formal normalization of Arab-Israeli relations in over 25 years.

[00:01:40]We're now joined for this story by two guests. Our first being Dan Perry, an international affairs expert joining us from Tel Aviv, and our second being Jason Isacson, who's the chief policy officer at the AJC, and he's joining us from Washington DC. Uh, I first want to go to you, Dan. Um, I want to start with this uh unprecedented move by President Trump. Uh, he said that potentially uh he could be calling on Iran to join in the Abraham Accords. U, what's your analysis of this latest statement from President Trump? And what's your analysis of the possibility of Iran actually joining into the Abraham Accords? It would be unprecedented.

[00:02:23]Well, it would be incredible and I cannot see this Iranian uh government, this version of the Islamic Republic regime agreeing to any such thing. But but the move is creative and brazen. Uh this is the very definition of pulling a rabbit out of a hat. And I must say in terms of creative diplomacy, it's quite impressive. Uh Trump doesn't get a lot of credit for brilliant strategic maneuvers, but if this works even a little bit, it not only uh might change the narrative of this war, which is currently one of frustrating failure uh but also help Netanyahu in his upcoming election, which will in a way comes bad news to probably the majority of the people in Israel uh who really want him gone. Uh but it changes things. Look, uh the landscape as of yesterday or the day before was that whereas it had been hoped that the war could end uh with surrender terms in which Iran gives up not only its nukes but also its missiles and its proxy terrorist militias all over the region and maybe even can be compelled to agree to dem democratic reforms. None of that was going to happen. They're going to open up the straight of Hormuz which had never been closed in a situation where now it has been revealed as a huge source of potential Iranian blackmail going forward as well in exchange for a deal on a nuclear program which was roughly attainable before and which is very similar to what President Obama arrived at in 2015 that Trump foolishly walked away from in 2018 inaugurating the current era of Iranian nuclear enrichment. which was one of the two reasons for the war, the other being that they massacred tens of thousands of protesters. So that's looking like a failure. And for Trump to have spun that into something that convinces enough Americans that it was worth the effort would have been difficult. But if somehow uh he persuades countries like Saudi Arabia that want the war over at this point uh to you know get over themselves and just normalize with Israel which is been a thing they've all been talking about for years now then that is just electrifying and it would really change things in the Middle East. So we'll see where it goes. But as diplomatic maneuvers uh uh go, this one is incredibly intriguing >> indeed. Um Jason, I want to turn to you now. Um you're joining us from Washington DC, the political capital of the United States, of course. Um, this move from President Trump could change or as Dan mentioned, it could change the perception of the United States uh, success in this war, especially if uh, an outcome of the negotiations would have such regional ramifications such as these further countries joining on to the Abraham Accords. Um Jason, what is your analysis of the likelihood of these countries joining on to these accords as a way of potentially ending the war? And what's your assessment of a potential reaction inside the United States to this move from Donald Trump?

[00:05:47]>> Well, thank you, Ruby. Um, first of all, I agree with everything that Jan just said. Um, this would be historic. It would remake the Middle East. It would remake the world. Um, removing um a source of enormous tension and conflict and misery um for millions, hundreds of millions of people um if there were um this spreading umbrella of peace and understanding.

[00:06:16]Um that's the that's the fantasy that we all aim for um and that we hope to achieve. um step by step. And of course there was very significant progress made in that direction just five and a half years ago with the Abraham Accords. It it broke the mold. It made it seem all of a sudden possible that Israel could have full diplomatic relations and even security relations with countries with which it had been ostensibly although not actually at war but certainly at loggerheads um in a confrontation that had lasted for decades. Um and there could actually be the possibility of peace spreading throughout the region.

[00:06:52]Uh but that was then. Um we're in a different era now. Um the war in Gaza over the last two and a half years has turned typically hostile populations even more hostile toward Israel. Um a lot of anger about Israel. Um about the way that the war was conducted. Um a lot of concern across the region about the war in Lebanon. Um even though the leaders across the region recognize that Israel had no choice but to do what it can to um destroy the Hezbollah militia that has been firing missiles and drones into Israel. Um nevertheless, populations are uniformly across this region hostile to Israel. So for leaders to step up to the challenge that President Trump has presented them to reach beyond their public sentiments um and recognize the benefit for their populations for the region for global security and regional stability and security and embrace the Abraham Accords framework. They might have to rename it by the way. Uh, you know, I'm not sure that the Saudis very much want to be part of something that was really fashioned for the UAE and Bahrain, but perhaps they would um in line with President Trump's thinking. Um, it's it's a wonderful vision and I applaud the ambition of the president and the vision of the president. Whether any of that is achievable though is of course a whole different question. Um I don't know how it is going to be possible for Pakistan for Turkey under President Erdogan who has made an obsession over his hostility toward Israel um to all of a sudden and and join Qatar and Saudi Arabia and other countries in suddenly embracing the Abra Abraham Accords embracing the relationship with Israel.

[00:08:38]Great if we can get there. I don't know if we can get there. Um in terms of the question you asked about the reaction in the United States, there would be un universal celebration of this result if the president is able to achieve this phenomenal um success. Um it would be it would be helpful to the president in the midterm elections coming up in November.

[00:08:59]And as Dan said, it would be certainly helpful to Prime Minister Netanyahu in his re-election efforts uh later this year. But again, a huge if surrounds all of these questions. Great if we can get there. Whether we can is a whole other other issue >> indeed. Um, back to you, Dan. Uh, there's another big if, and that is uh if Iran would sign on as well. I know I previously asked you this question, but I'm now wondering about how uh it could possibly go if these uh nations in the region, of course, uh there's been difficult relations between the Gulf nations and Iran, strikes being uh exchanged between the two between between these these these neighbors as well. Um, but how would Iran react to this latest this latest statement from Trump? He's also said there's also been reports that on the call there was silence from some of the leaders of these countries uh perhaps indicating how how big of a political move it would be for them to make. Um, but how will Iran react to uh these nations joining the Abraham Accords?

[00:10:17]I don't think Iran's reaction is going to be particularly profound. They they expected it uh in many cases already. Uh it's it's not their concern. They're at loggerheads with these countries. I mean, these countries, whether or not they're eager to continue to have kinetic warfare against Iran, want the regime to fall. Uh Iran knows that it faces on a on a strategic level near global opposition to everything about its regime. Even though tactically some countries may oppose fighting it or may fear it. Uh certainly now that it's uh leverage with asymmetric warfare has been so clearly manifested. But no, they they they're not going to react in any game-changing way to Saudi Arabia or even Qatar uh joining the Abraham Accords under whatever name. Uh the the idea though that the Iranian regime could make peace with Israel is it seems to me to be uh a bridge of fantasy too far. There is no way. Um there are those who will tell you that you know having proxy militias all over the region trying to spread jihad death and mayhem that's part of their DNA. Maybe certainly looks that way. Opposing Israel is obviously part of their DNA.

[00:11:36]um it wouldn't be the Islamic reg republic if if they were to do such a thing. Moreover, it appears as if uh the hunter that is organized itself largely based on the IRGC uh into post decapitation in late February and early March of its previous leadership uh is if anything more radical. On the other hand, they are collectively a bit of a cipher. We don't really know. We don't have a clear window into their thinking.

[00:12:08]We uh have all kinds of indications and there is reports and there is intel leaks, but we just don't know. I guess uh perhaps if there is any leverage that could be applied, it would be in the case of the sanctions and the uh frozen assets. Iran wants not just partial unfreezing and undoing of those two levers uh but total I I doubt they'll get it but on the other hand they're acting like a country that thinks they have leverage because of the straight of her moves and because of the obvious fear of the Gulf countries uh about being attacked at all because their business model depends on westerners doing business there without fear of being attacked. They do not have the Israelis uh uh patience with sitting around bomb shelters. So the Iranians think they have leverage and they're demanding this total undoing of the economic warfare against them. I can't see them getting that. But I suppose if it turns out that we're wrong about the nature of the current variant of the regime and they are somewhat pragmatic, I could see some move in this direction.

[00:13:20]Not normalization, but some move in this direction uh in exchange for a total end to their economic isolation. That would be so spectacular an achievement for the regime that who knows maybe something creative might be organized but it still seems to me to be rather farfetched.

[00:13:40]>> Very interesting development. Dan, thank you very much for joining us today on the