Trump Continues to Pressure Gulf Nations to Normalise Relations with Israel

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump continues to pressure Gulf nations to normalise relations with Israel. During yesterday’s cabinet meeting, he urged Gulf states to join the Abraham Accords. In today’s cabinet meeting, Trump stated he wants to see Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar join the Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel. “I think those countries owe us for this,” he said.

According to Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military intelligence analyst, “Trump is trying as hard as he can to create a ‘winning image’. If Iran doesn’t deliver, perhaps Gulf nations will, allowing him to justify his increasingly problematic approach towards Tehran,” he wrote on X.

Citrinowicz added there was “almost no chance” this would happen. “But Washington’s persistence is eroding Riyadh’s trust at a time when Saudi leadership is already deeply concerned about new regional escalations,” he wrote.

“This is impractical, regardless of the facts, and disconnected from the actual dynamics of the Middle East, raising serious doubts about whether this administration truly understands the region,” he said.

Joey Hood, former US ambassador to Tunisia, said Trump’s attempt to link US-Iran deals with pushing more Arab nations to normalise ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords is part of his effort to be seen as a “historic” political figure.

“Donald Trump is really negotiating with himself. He’s negotiating with his legacy,” Hood told Al Jazeera. “Above all, he wants to be seen as a historic president who changed everything, who could do things previous presidents couldn’t.”

“Get rid of nuclear-armed Iran? Of course. But if we can do that, why not normalise diplomatic relations across the Arab world with Israel?” he said, referring to the US president’s thinking.