Trump uses Iran strikes to push for more Middle East states to join Abraham Accords

Fears over Tehran possessing nuclear weapons once served as unifier of Arab states and Israel

US President Donald Trump has said the Abraham Accords will 'ensure peace' in the region. EPA

US President Donald Trump on Thursday urged more countries in the Middle East to join the Abraham Accords, highlighting the destruction of Iran's nuclear infrastructure in recent American attacks.

"Now that the nuclear arsenal being 'created' by Iran has been totally obliterated, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern countries join the Abraham Accords," Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "This will ensure peace in the Middle East."

Screengrab from Truth Social / @realDonaldTrump

In 2020, during Mr Trump's first term, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco signed the accords, establishing relations with Israel. Mr Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire for more countries to join the accords, and Reuters reported that the Trump administration is working to have Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries sign.

Mr Trump has said previously that he would like Iran to sign the accords, saying during his presidential campaign last year that Tehran would have joined had he been re-elected after his first term.

But this possibility became even more remote when the US carried out a series of strikes on sites linked to Iran's nuclear programme amid the Israel-Iran air war.

The Trump administration has frequently said Iran is the main driver of instability in the Middle East, and Mr Trump probably views the US strikes as having removed the final obstacle to peace in the region.

Still, it is a curious strategy to highlight the destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities in urging Middle East countries to sign the accords, as fears over the expansion of Tehran's influence has historically served as a unifier for Israel and many Arab states.

In addition to its nuclear programme, which many view as a means to develop a nuclear weapon, Iran also funds and trains various proxy groups throughout the Middle East, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

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But with the US having "obliterated" Iran's nuclear programme, and with proxy groups on the back foot after conflicts with Israel and US bombing campaigns, countering Tehran does not appear to have the same unifying power it once did.

Iran has also been making diplomatic inroads with several of its Arab neighbours over the past few years. Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Tehran in 2023, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi carried out a tour of the Gulf earlier this year, visiting the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman in May.

This was derailed when Iran launched a retaliatory attack on a US base in Qatar following the strikes on its nuclear sites. The attack resulted in limited damage and no casualties, but regional leaders condemned the action, as it showed that their countries would be the ones to suffer in any US-Iran conflict.

Despite Iran no longer being an obstacle to Middle East stability, Mr Trump may soon find that the multi-front Gaza war to be the thing hindering regional states from establishing relations with Israel.

Saudi Arabia, for example, has said it will not establish relations with Israel without a concrete path towards the creation of a Palestinian state. During his May trip to Saudi Arabia, Mr Trump said he hoped the kingdom would join "in your own time".

The US has been heavily involved in peace talks, but negotiations have stalled and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans on Thursday to push half of the population of Gaza to the south of the territory as part of a new campaign to fully reoccupy the enclave.