U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, 25 May declared that negotiations with Iran were “proceeding nicely” and called on several Middle Eastern and South Asian nations — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan — to join the Abraham Accords as part of a sweeping regional settlement. The remarks, posted on his Truth Social platform, came days after Trump signalled that a broad regional understanding involving Iran and multiple countries was nearing finalisation.

What Trump Said

In an extended Truth Social post, Trump framed the Iran negotiations in stark binary terms: either a comprehensive agreement benefiting all parties, or a return to open conflict. “It will only be a Great Deal for all or no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!” he wrote.

Trump said he had personally discussed the matter with a roster of regional leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, among others.

Abraham Accords as a Condition

Trump made Abraham Accords membership an explicit condition for participation in the broader deal. “I stated that, after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously sign onto the Abraham Accords,” he wrote.

He singled out Saudi Arabia and Qatar as the countries that should sign first, adding that Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan should follow. The UAE and Bahrain are already signatories. “If they don’t, they should not be part of this deal, as it shows bad intentions,” Trump warned.

Iran as a Potential Signatory

In a striking claim, Trump suggested that Iran itself could eventually join the Abraham Accords if a final nuclear and regional agreement is concluded with Washington. “In speaking to numerous of the Great Leaders mentioned above, they would be honored, as soon as our Document is signed, to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords,” he wrote, adding: “Wow, now that would be something special!”

This is a significant escalation of the accords’ stated ambitions. The framework, originally brokered during Trump’s first term, normalised ties between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and Kazakhstan. Bringing Iran — Israel’s most vocal regional adversary — into the same framework would represent an unprecedented diplomatic shift.

Regional and Strategic Implications

Trump argued that a wider settlement could transform the Middle East into a unified economic and political bloc. “The Middle East would be United, Powerful, and Economically Strong, like perhaps no other area, anywhere in the World!” he wrote. He also directed U.S. representatives to begin formalising the expansion process, stating: “By copy of this TRUTH, I am asking my Representatives to begin, and successfully complete, the process of signing these Countries into the already Historic Abraham Accords.”

Notably, the inclusion of Pakistan — a non-Arab, nuclear-armed state with no direct conflict with Israel — broadens the accords well beyond their original Middle Eastern scope. The reference to Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah as a direct interlocutor, rather than Pakistan’s civilian government, has also drawn attention. With Iran-U.S. nuclear talks ongoing and Gulf states recalibrating their regional postures, the coming weeks will test whether Trump’s sweeping vision translates into formal agreements.