On May 24 (US time), according to Axios, US President Donald Trump called on leaders of some Middle Eastern countries and Pakistan to consider normalizing relations with Israel in the event that the US and Iran reach a peace agreement.
The information was released after a phone call on May 23 between Mr. Trump and the leaders of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, UAE, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
According to US officials quoted by Axios, Mr. Trump expressed hope that after the Iran-related conflict ends, countries that have not participated in the Abraham Agreement or have no peace treaty with Israel will move towards establishing relations with Tel Aviv.
Sources said that this proposal surprised representatives of Qatar, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - countries that currently do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
A US official said that after Mr. Trump made the proposal, the meeting line appeared with a few seconds of silence. The US President then joked that whether the leaders attending were still listening or not.
Mr. Trump also said that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner will continue to promote exchanges related to normalizing relations between Israel and these countries in the near future.
Previously, on the social network Truth Social, Mr. Trump also mentioned the possibility that Iran may participate in the Abraham Agreement in the future.
The Abraham Agreement was brokered by the US in the period 2020-2021 to promote the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries.
In 2020, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco successively established diplomatic relations with Israel. By 2021, Sudan also declared normalization of relations with Tel Aviv.
Before the Abraham Agreement was signed, among Arab countries only Egypt and Jordan maintained official diplomatic relations with Israel.
Mr. Trump's new move comes as Washington is stepping up diplomatic efforts to find a solution to regional tensions and promote a new security structure in the Middle East after the Iran-related conflict.
