War Clouds the Path to Arab-Israeli Ties --- Trump has linked normalization of ties to an Iran deal, but conditions aren't ripe

“As President Trump worked in recent days toward a deal to end his war with Iran, he threw a curveball: Arab states as well as Pakistan and Turkey should consider it mandatory to welcome the agreement by establishing diplomatic relations with Israel under the president's Abraham Accords.

 

For much of the Gulf, the proposal only added insult to injury. U.S. relations with the region have been shaken by the war, which created major costs and inflamed U.S. allies' security concerns.

 

Some analysts said Arab leaders are increasingly distrustful of both the U.S. and Israel and fear normalization would further antagonize Iran, which has shown its capability and willingness to attack Persian Gulf states with thousands of drone and missile strikes.

 

Arab populations, meanwhile, are even less disposed than they were a few years ago to accept deeper ties with Israel after its campaign in the Gaza Strip. Many consider it a rogue state destabilizing the region.

 

"The feeling in the Gulf is not how much they owe the United States but rather how much they feel disappointed," said Jon Alterman, the Zbigniew Brzezinski chair in global security and geostrategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington. "While they're careful not to say it explicitly, they feel the United States was very motivated to protect Israel and not very motivated to protect them."

 

Trump told the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan and Turkey in a May 23 phone call that as part of the Iran deal currently under negotiation it "should be mandatory" for them to join the Abraham Accords, the 2020 deal negotiated during his first term that saw the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain establish formal diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.

 

The U.A.E. has reaffirmed its security ties with the U.S. and Israel as a result of the war, during which Iran targeted it with more than 2,800 drones and missiles, far more than any other target, including Israel. Trump pressed the other countries to follow suit.

 

Trump's insistence that several Gulf states must sign on to the Abraham Accords was expected to complicate negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end the war. While Trump declared a ceasefire on April 7, Iran has yet to agree to U.S. demands, including that Tehran must never obtain a nuclear weapon and must hand over its existing stockpile of enriched uranium.

 

In an interview that aired Saturday, the president told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Fox News that the Iranians were "good negotiators" and that he wasn't in a rush because "if you're going to be in a hurry, you're not going to make a good deal."

 

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries in the region are unlikely to heed Trump's call. Some have pushed back privately. Riyadh has long said openly that it would only agree to the pact if there were a clear pathway toward a Palestinian state. Doha, which mediated between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war, has no plans to join the Abraham Accords. Any engagement with Israel would focus on the resolution of the Palestinian issue, a Qatari official has said.

 

The Information Ministry of Kuwait, which has long rejected normalizing with Israel and enforced the longstanding Arab boycott of Israel, didn't respond to a request for comment on Trump's remarks.

 

Trump doubled down this past Wednesday in a cabinet meeting where he said envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were speaking to regional leaders about normalization.

 

"That would really be a tremendous sign, and I think those countries owe it to us," he said. "It'll be great for Saudi Arabia. It'll be great for Qatar, for Kuwait and the whole group."

 

Trump said he might not sign an Iran deal if the other states don't join the Abraham Accords.

 

The U.S. had a better shot at integrating Israel into the region after it led the 1991 Gulf war to liberate Kuwait from invading Iraqi troops. The U.S. built on the goodwill it had generated with grateful Gulf states to convene a peace conference in Madrid aimed at resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. The result was an unprecedented direct dialogue that eventually paved the way for Israeli accords with Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

 

The current effort comes against a very different backdrop. Firas Maksad, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa practice at risk consulting firm Eurasia Group, said Trump is pressuring the countries that suffered damaging Iranian attacks to now pay a political price by antagonizing an Iranian regime that has been emboldened by the war and threatens long-term control of their economic lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz. All six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council have incurred damage from retaliatory strikes against U.S. bases as well as civilian infrastructure like airports and residential areas. Many will also likely be wary of a backlash from their own people.

 

"It just doesn't compute for the GCC," said Maksad, who visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the U.A.E. in May. "Nobody's going to move in that direction in the current climate."” [1]

 

1. World News: War Clouds the Path to Arab-Israeli Ties --- Trump has linked normalization of ties to an Iran deal, but conditions aren't ripe. Kalin, Stephen.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 01 June 2026: A7.