Fear Of Iran And Public Backlash Stall Trump's Push For Abraham Accords

US President Donald Trump’s demand that a slew of Muslim-majority countries recognize Israel as part of a deal to end the war with Iran has been largely met with bemusement and silence across the Middle East, experts say.

In a May 24 social media post, Trump said he was “mandatorily requesting” that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt join the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic pact brokered by the United States to normalize relations between Israel and the Muslim world.

Trump doubled down on May 27, saying Washington may not move forward with an agreement to end the 12-week war with Iran unless more countries join the accords. He went as far as saying that some countries “owe that to us.”

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The United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran on February 28, despite the objections of Washington’s Arab allies. In response to the war, Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones targeting US military bases as well as key energy and commercial sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.

Experts said they see little prospect of more governments normalizing relations with Israel, a key US ally. Not only do these administrations fear a public backlash in their respective countries, where anti-Israeli sentiment runs high, but they are also aware that normalization with Israel could make them a target.

“It is important to remember that Bahrain and the UAE have been targeted substantially more than other regional states by Iran over the past three months, ostensibly due to their membership in the Abraham Accords,” Jason Campbell, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based think tank, told RFE/RL.

“The prevailing risk for these states to join the Abraham Accords is the potential hit on their domestic legitimacy in not only granting recognition to Israel but do so under the auspices of what could be perceived to be an alliance,” added Campbell.

Israel is also viewed by many countries in the region as an increasingly destabilizing force. It has launched a series of wars since Hamas's attacks on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people, including a devastating war in the Gaza Strip, a bombing campaign of Iran in June 2025, the invasion of southern Lebanon, and the current conflict with Tehran.

'Out Of The Question'

A key part of Trump’s Middle East policy during his first term in office, the Abraham Accords are designed to bolster cooperation between Israel and the Muslim world.

In 2020, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco signed the agreement to normalize their relations. A year later, Sudan joined the accords. In November, Kazakhstan became the first country in Central Asia to sign the agreement.

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The Trump administration is looking to expand the initiative but has faced resistance.

Of the countries listed in his May 24 post on social media, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey already have relations with Israel. But others like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan appear to have little appetite to normalize ties.

Saudi Arabia, which hosts the two holiest sites in Islam, has previously said any normalization with Israel hinges on the creation of an independent Palestinian state, a move rejected by Israel’s far right government.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously said the kingdom is open to joining the accords but only if there was a “clear path” toward a two-state solution that would end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump held a phone call with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on May 28. But the issue of the Abraham Accords did not appear in a readout of the call.

Pakistan, another US ally, has been vocal in its opposition.

“For a just resolution of the [Palestine] dispute, Pakistan stands by its principled stance on the indispensability of the two-state solution and the need for an independent, sovereign, and vibrant state of Palestine based on pre-1967 war borders with al-Quds al-Sharif [Jerusalem] as its capital,” Pakistan powerful Army Chief Asim Munir told a televised gathering on May 26.

One of the world’s largest Muslim-majority countries, Pakistan does not recognize Israel. Pakistani passports even state that citizens are banned from traveling to Israel.

“Joining the Abraham Accords [for Pakistan] is out of the question,” Maleeha Lodhi, former Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, told RFE/RL. “It will only consider that if an independent and contiguous Palestinian state is established with [East] Jerusalem as its capital.”

Experts say Pakistan will only normalize relations with Israel if Saudi Arabia, its closest Arab ally, does it first. They also note that Islamabad fears an angry public reaction if it signs the accords.

“Pakistan will always coordinate its policy on the Abraham Accords with Saudi Arabia,” Kamran Bokhari, senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Policy Council, told RFE/RL.

“Pakistan also has to factor in popular sentiment at home -- more so than Saudi Arabia because Pakistan's political system has democratic elements,” he added.