Donald Trump’s signature brand of high-stakes transactional diplomacy has met a familiar resistance in the Middle East. The former president, currently re-asserting his influence on the global stage, has demanded that Saudi Arabia and several other regional powers join the Abraham Accords as a prerequisite for any U.S.-brokered negotiations with Iran.
Riyadh’s response was swift and underscored its long-standing commitment to regional political frameworks over quick-fix diplomatic wins. A senior Saudi source reiterated that the kingdom’s position remains unchanged, insisting on a "clear and irreversible path" toward a sovereign Palestinian state before any normalization with Israel can occur.
Trump’s ultimatum targeted a broad coalition of intermediaries, including Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Pakistan. He suggested that these nations should be excluded from mediating U.S.-Iran deals unless they immediately join the accords. In a characteristic move to bypass traditional diplomatic nuances, Trump even suggested that Iran itself should eventually become a signatory to the Abraham Accords as part of a final settlement.
This standoff highlights the growing friction between a potential second-term Trump administration’s desire for a grand regional realignment and the grim realities of post-2023 Middle Eastern geopolitics. While the 2020 Abraham Accords successfully bypassed the Palestinian issue to link Israel with the UAE and Bahrain, the devastating conflict in Gaza has made a similar move politically impossible for the Saudi leadership.