Trump just threw a massive wrench into the Iran negotiations. In a lengthy new post, Trump said it should be “mandatory” that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and others sign onto the Abraham Accords as part of any deal involving Iran. That comes after Trump reportedly stunned leaders of several Arab and Muslim nations during a Saturday conference call by demanding they normalize relations with Israel if an Iran war deal is reached. According to U.S. officials familiar with the call, leaders, especially from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan, which do not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, were caught completely off guard. “There was silence on the line and Trump joked and asked if they are still there,” one official said. Now Trump is publicly escalating the demand, saying countries that refuse “should not be part of this Deal.” Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said normalization with Israel requires an irreversible path toward a Palestinian state, something Netanyahu’s government flatly rejects. Trump is now trying to force some of the most politically sensitive diplomatic issues in the Middle East into an already fragile Iran negotiation.
