Trump Links Iran Deal to Abraham Accords

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published May 25, 2026

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U.S. President Donald Trump has added a new and highly sensitive condition to the Iran negotiation track, saying any potential agreement with Tehran should include several Arab and Muslim-majority countries joining the Abraham Accords. The move could broaden the political ambition of the deal, but it may also make the negotiations much harder.

Trump said countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan should join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements launched in 2020 between Israel and several Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Trump said he had spoken with leaders from those countries, as well as existing Accords members, as part of his effort to build a wider coalition around any agreement with Iran.

The proposal is sensitive because it links two complex files: ending the conflict or tensions with Iran on one hand, and expanding normalization with Israel on the other. Talks with Tehran already face major disputes over the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions, highly enriched uranium and guarantees that Iran will not obtain a nuclear weapon. Adding a regional political demand of this scale could make any agreement more historic if it succeeds, but also more vulnerable to opposition.

According to U.S. reports, Trump raised the idea during a call with Arab and Muslim leaders, saying he wanted their countries to sign peace agreements with Israel if a deal is reached to end the Iran war. Analysts see the move as an attempt to turn an Iran agreement from a limited security arrangement into a much broader regional deal involving Israel and major Arab and Muslim states.

Initial reactions suggest the path will not be easy. Reuters reported that Pakistan rejected the idea, while other countries named by Trump had not issued similar formal responses. Saudi Arabia has also remained cautious, tying any normalization with Israel to real progress toward a Palestinian state, making its entry into the Abraham Accords highly sensitive amid the war in Gaza.

The Gaza war further complicates the proposal. Many of the Arab and Muslim-majority countries Trump named face strong public anger over Israeli policies in Gaza, making a broad normalization step politically difficult while images of killing, siege and humanitarian crisis continue. Critics may argue that Trump is mixing the Iran track with the Israel normalization track in a way that could weaken both.