US President Donald Trump said on Monday that negotiations with Iran were "proceeding nicely" and that he asked countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords if an agreement is reached with Tehran.
"It should be mandatory that all of these countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign on to the Abraham Accords," Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The accords, signed in 2020 during Mr Trump's first term, led the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco to establish relations with Israel. Mr Trump has been seeking to add more signatories to the accords since his return to office.
"I am mandatorily requesting that all countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords, and that, if Iran signs its agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an honour to have them also be part of this unparalleled world coalition," he wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social.
"It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit. If they don’t, they should not be part of this deal in that it shows bad intention.
"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."
Mr Trump's announcement comes after a flurry of diplomatic calls and efforts in the region at the weekend to secure an agreement between Iran and the US to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Trump said he held a call with leaders of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain on Saturday. He added that a deal with Iran was “very close” to completion.
Tehran and the Washington played down hopes of an imminent agreement on Monday, but confirmed "significant progress" had been made in negotiations.
Mr Trump said any agreement with Iran would either be a "great deal for all" or there would be no deal at all. He warned of a return "to the battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before – and nobody wants that".
His announcement came as Iran's lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also Speaker of the country's Parliament, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Doha, Iranian state media reported.
The two officials are holding talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, who is also Foreign Minister, on the possibility of an agreement between the US and Iran to end the war, Reuters reported. The discussions are focused primarily on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to an official quoted in the report.
Iran's central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati also travelled to Qatar on Monday, Iranian state media reported. The visit follows talks with a Qatari delegation in Tehran regarding frozen Iranian funds.
