Trump suggests Saudi Arabia and Qatar sign Abraham accords as part of Iran peace deal
In a new post on Truth Social, the US president, Donald Trump, said that talks with Iran are “proceeding nicely” but reiterated his earlier warning that it will either be a “great deal for all” or there will be no deal at all, raising the prospect of a resumption of attacks on Iran if the deal doesn’t make it over the line.
He went on to say that it should be “mandatory” for certain countries in the region – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan – to sign up to the Abraham accords, diplomatic agreements brokered in 2020 in which several Arab nations agreed to recognise Israel, as part of US efforts to reach a deal with Iran. All of these countries have helped mediate between Washington and Tehran, with Pakistan taking the lead.
Trump wrote:
It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be.
The Abraham Accords have proven to be, for the Countries involved (The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and Kazakhstan), a Financial, Economic, and Social BOOM, even during this time of Conflict and War, with the current Members never even suggesting leaving, or taking so much as even a pause.
The UAE and Bahrain signed the Abraham accords during Trump’s first term in 2020, breaking a longstanding taboo to become the first Arab states to recognise Israel in a quarter century. Morocco and Sudan followed. Israel and the UAE have since developed close economic and security ties, including defence cooperation and a free trade pact, although there are significant strains in the relationship.
Key events
The Israeli military has issued a forced evacuation order for some residents of southern Lebanon’s Tyre city and its surroundings ahead of imminent attacks, claiming it is responding to Hezbollah violations of the US-brokered ceasefire with the Lebanese state last month.
Iranian top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araqchi are in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on a potential US-Iran deal to end the conflict, an official briefed on the visit said on Monday.
The discussions are focused primarily on the strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the official told Reuters.
Iran’s central bank governor is also part of the delegation to discuss the potential release of frozen Iranian funds as part of a final agreement, according to the official.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa discussed by phone the need to find a rapid diplomatic resolution to the Iran crisis, the Kremlin said on Monday.
It comes as Iran warned on Monday that, while some progress had been made, it was not yet close to striking a deal with the United States to end the Middle East war.
World oil prices tumbled on renewed optimism about an agreement, after top US diplomat Marco Rubio suggested a deal could be reached within the day – but Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman responded: “No one can make such a claim.”
Lucy Campbell
Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that the agreement would include opening of the strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint for global trade, which Iran has effectively shut since the US and Israel started the war in February.
But the US president did not mention Iran’s nuclear program and highly enriched uranium, despite repeatedly insisting that Tehran renounce any nuclear ambitions was a “red line” in negotiations to end the war. Iranian officials have sought to negotiate those matters at a later date.
The peace draft includes a 60-day ceasefire extension, during which the strait of Hormuz would be reopened, according to Axios.
Iran would agree to clear mines it deployed in the strait and allow ships to pass freely, and in exchange, the US would lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports. During that time Iran would also be able to freely sell oil and negotiations would be held on the nuclear issue.
The apparent concessions from Washington have triggered alarm among several Republican foreign policy hawks.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump, warned: “If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution.”
The perception of Iran being able to “terrorize” the strait of Hormuz, and its ability to damage oil infrastructure across the Gulf, amounts to a “major shift of the balance of power in the region and over time will be a nightmare for Israel”, Graham argued.
“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime – still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ – now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Texas senator Ted Cruz wrote on X.
Iran deal will either be ‘great and meaningful’ or there will ‘be no deal’ at all, Trump says
In a post on Truth Social, the US president, Donald Trump, has again hit out at US lawmakers who reacted furiously to reports that a proposed deal with Iran contained major concessions from Washington.
“I laugh at all of the Dumocrats, RINOS, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal I am making with Iran, things that haven’t even been negotiated yet,” Trump wrote.
“The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal. It will be the exact opposite of the JCPOA disaster negotiated by the failed Obama Administration, which was a direct and open path to a Nuclear Weapon for Iran,” he said, referring to the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, to limit Iran’s nuclear enrichment in return for sanctions relief.
Trump withdrew from that international deal in 2018, saying the agreement was “rotten” and complaining it only limited Iran’s nuclear activities for a fixed period. He has claimed the new deal will be far superior, without saying how.
Israel issues more forced evacuation orders for Lebanese towns and villages
The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for 10 Lebanese towns and villages this morning as it continues displacing residents ahead of attacks it says are targeting Hezbollah although many civilians are being killed in them. You can read more information about the latest evacuation order in this post on X.
Israel has continued striking Lebanon regularly, both south and north of the Litani River in south Lebanon, despite a US-brokered ceasefire coming into effect last month. It says it is targeting Hezbollah sites including weapons storage facilities and command centres.
Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, has fired rockets and drones into northern Israel and against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon as it rejects pushes for its disarmament and Israeli occupation of some of southern Lebanon.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,111 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Israel’s renewed war on Lebanon started on 2 March.
Israel’s deadly air assault – and ground invasion – were in response to Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel after the US and Israel killed the former Iranian supreme leader in Tehran on 28 February.
Iran is pushing for an and to Israel’s war on Lebanon as part of its negotiations with the US. As part of the emerging US-Iran deal, Israel could reportedly be allowed to strike Hezbollah if the militant group instigates or carries out attacks, giving the Israeli military large scope going forward.
Despite a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel being signed last month, regular Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon have continued unabated.
Lebanon’s state-run National News agency (NNA) reported this morning that the Israeli army carried out airstrikes in towns in the Bint Jbeil district, and the towns of al-Mansouri, al-Qulaylah and al-Haniyeh were hit by Israeli airstrikes and phosphorus shelling in the Tyre district.
The NNA also reported that three people were killed after Israeli warplanes carried out three drone attacks this morning, targeting a vehicle on the Kfar Rumman-Jarmaq highway, another on the Jarmaq-Khardali road, and a motorcycle near the Usersif Hotel.
We have not yet been able to independently verify these reports.
In a social media update, the IDF said that a drone was forced to perform an emergency landing in an “open area” in central Israel earlier today due to a technical malfunction.
“The aircraft was collected by IDF forces, there is no damage and no casualties,” it wrote in a short statement.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, will not participate in the UN security council meeting in New York due to issues related to a US visa, Al Jazeera quoted the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, as having said earlier.
