Former US President Donald Trump has said it is time for Saudi Arabia to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel. He reiterated that any nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and the kingdom would depend on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords.
The Abraham Accords are a series of agreements brokered by the Trump administration that established normal relations between Israel and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. Saudi Arabia, a key regional power, has so far not joined the accords.
Trump made the comments while discussing US-Saudi relations. He emphasized that a civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia would only move forward if the kingdom commits to peace with Israel. The former president has long pushed for broader Arab recognition of Israel as a way to promote stability in the Middle East.
Observers note that Saudi Arabia has historically conditioned normalization on progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. However, Trump's statement signals a continued push to bring the kingdom into the accords without linking it directly to Palestinian statehood.
The Biden administration has also expressed interest in expanding the Abraham Accords, though it has taken a different approach to the Saudi nuclear issue. Trump's remarks add to ongoing debate about the future of US policy in the region.