US President Donald Trump on Wednesday asserted that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar “owe it to” the United States to sign the Abraham Accords and hinted that he may not go forward with the Iran deal if they don’t.
Speaking to reporters during a cabinet meeting he said, “I am not sure we should make the deal if they don’t sign. You want to know the truth. If they don’t sign to join the Abraham Accords, I don’t know. we have countries in there already. UAE, great, great countries, bold countries.”
“It’ll be historic if they do it. I think they owe that to us, to be honest, I think, because that really would be a tremendous time. And I think those countries owe it to us,” he added.
His comments come after Iranian state media reported that a tentative memorandum of understanding has been negotiated between US and Iran, with the former lifting its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in return for resuming the movement of ships to pre-war levels.
The US denied these reports, calling them “complete fabrication,” adding that “nobody should believe what Iranian state media is putting out.”
“This report from Iranian controlled media is not true and the MOU they ‘released’ is a complete fabrication. Nobody should believe what Iranian state media is putting out. FACTS MATTER,” the White House’s rapid response account posted on X.
What are the Abraham Accords?
Abraham Accords were first brokered by Trump during his first term and calls on multiple Muslim-majority nations to normalise diplomatic, economic and security relations with Israel.
Trump on Monday had “urged” Pakistan and West Asian countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Jordan, to join the Abraham Accords and formally recognise Israel as part of a broader diplomatic effort to end the US-Iran conflict, making it a key requirement of the US-Iran deal.
Also Read | ‘Not acceptable to us’: Pakistan minister rejects US’ proposal of joining Abraham Accords for peace deal with Iran
‘Nobody’s going to control Hormuz’
Responding to a question whether he was comfortable with a short-term deal that would open the Strait of Hormuz but under Iranian control, Trump responded saying that nobody would control the international waters.
“Nobody’s going to control it. It’s international waters. The strait’s going to be open to everybody” and the US will “watch over it.”
He also said that he won’t be rushed into a deal, warning that Iran’s efforts to outlast him won’t work because he doesn’t “care about the midterms.”
“They thought they were going to outwait me, you know? We’ll outwait him, he’s got the midterms.”
“I don’t care about the midterms. Look what happened last night, that was a prelude to the midterms. People understand it,” he added.
He further expressed confidence over achieving a peace deal with Iran, cautioning that if he isn’t satisfied by it, he is willing to resume military operations.
“We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,” Trump said. “Either that, or we’ll have to just finish the job.”
“They want to just make a deal,” he said. “I don’t think they have a choice.”
What are they key points in the memorandum?
One of the key talking points in the memorandum is the opening of Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s state broadcaster said that the plan involving opening the crucial waterway would remain under Iranian supervision and over a period of 30 days, Iran would allow shipping to return to pre-war levels, CNN reported.
Iran demands the US to lift its blockade on its ports. The memorandum will also require the withdrawal of US military forces from areas near Iran and call for an end to the blockade, CNN reported citing state run IRIB.
Another key point that Iran mentioned in the memorandum regarding the Hormuz is that it will control the crucial waterway with Oman.
Trump asserted that “Oman will behave just like everybody else,” threatening that otherwise “we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that.”
US attacks Iran
The United States launched new strikes on Iran on Wednesday while ceasefire talks were still underway, saying the operation was carried out in self-defence.
A US official said the strikes targeted a site near the Strait of Hormuz that was considered a threat to American forces and commercial shipping in the area, CNN reported.
The official also said that US forces intercepted four Iranian attack drones deemed threatening, and additionally struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth drone.
