US President Donald Trump has reportedly urged several Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel.
The move comes as the Trump administration is trying to negotiate an agreement to end the conflict with Iran and expand US diplomatic influence in the Middle East.
However, Pakistan has reportedly rejected the proposal, while other countries have yet to give any public reaction. Public sentiment in most Muslim countries towards Israel is also seen to be still tense following the ongoing military operation in Gaza.
Trump announced that he had held discussions with the leaders of the countries involved, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which had previously signed the agreement with Israel.
He also expressed his desire to see more Arab countries join the agreement if negotiations between the United States and Iran succeed in reaching an agreement.
According to a source from Pakistan, efforts to link the Iranian negotiations with the expansion of the Abraham Accords are considered irrelevant because the two issues are not directly related.
The same source also stressed that Pakistan will not be forced to accept any demands regarding diplomatic relations with Israel.
In a similar development, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly not responded to Trump's statement.
For Saudi Arabia, the issue of recognizing Israel is considered very sensitive because it involves the country's position as the guardian of the two holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina.
Saudi Arabia previously stressed that they would not sign the Abraham Accords without a clear plan towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Egypt, Jordan and Turkey have actually had diplomatic relations with Israel for a long time, but these relations have become increasingly tense since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
Trump at the same time also stated that negotiations with Iran were going well, but did not give any clear indication whether a final agreement would be reached in the near future.
Analysts see Trump trying to use the negotiations with Iran as an opportunity to expand the Abraham Accords and form greater regional cooperation involving Israel and Arab countries.
The Abraham Accords were first introduced during Trump's first term in 2020 when the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to normalize relations with Israel. Later, Morocco and Sudan also joined the agreement.
