What Trump Actually Said

On Monday, May 26, Trump posted that it "should be mandatory" for countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan to "simultaneously sign onto the Abraham Accords" as part of any U.S. agreement with Iran, according to Al Jazeera.

He claimed to have already spoken directly with leaders from those nations. The demand was not floated as a goal or aspiration. Trump used the word mandatory.

This represents a significant escalation in what was already a complicated diplomatic situation.

The Basic Problem

Several of the countries Trump specifically named — Turkey, Egypt, Jordan — already have formal diplomatic relations with Israel. NBC News reported this directly, yet most headlines framed the story as "Trump pushes Arab normalization" without noting that basic fact.

If you're demanding countries do something they already did, your demand doesn't signal strength. It signals you didn't do your homework.

The Reaction: Silence and Private Frustration

As of May 29, according to NBC News, there has been "almost no response" from any of the named countries. Zero statements of support. Not even from Israel, which would benefit most from such a deal.

A senior Arab official directly involved in mediating the U.S.-Iran talks told NBC News: "Someone is misunderstanding the situation in a big way. We should be paid back, not paying the price."

Countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey acted as intermediaries to help Washington reach a potential agreement. They absorbed economic and security risks from regional escalation. Now they're being handed a bill instead of a thank-you.

Asif Durrani, a Pakistani diplomat and former Pakistani ambassador to Iran, wrote on X that asking Gulf states to "absorb additional political costs by normalising ties with Israel amid the Gaza tragedy risks deepening regional instability."

Aaron David Miller Calls It 'Gaslighting'

Aaron David Miller — a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who served as a senior State Department official under multiple presidential administrations from both parties — didn't mince words when speaking to NBC News.

"It's gaslighting," Miller said.

He compared Trump's Abraham Accords push to the Gaza "Riviera" plan — a legacy-seeking proposal that sounded sweeping in a press conference and has gone nowhere since. The pattern: big announcement, diplomatic silence, no follow-through.

The Iran Deal Angle

Trump has linked normalization to an Iran deal, but the conditions for both are currently working against each other, according to reporting by the WSJ.

The war with Iran is ongoing. Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe. Arab leaders face domestic populations that are watching both in real time. Asking those governments to publicly embrace Israel under these conditions isn't diplomacy — it's asking them to commit political suicide at home to give Trump a headline.

The Federal, an Indian outlet, noted that Trump's comments "mark a renewed attempt to reshape the diplomatic landscape" but bundle two of the most complicated problems in Middle East diplomacy — Iranian nuclear ambitions and Palestinian statehood — into a single transaction. That's a wish list, not a deal.

The Domestic Politics Piece

This demand may have been primarily designed for a domestic audience, not a foreign one.

Before Trump's Abraham Accords statement, hawkish pro-Israel voices were loudly criticizing any Iran agreement. Senator Lindsey Graham called ending the conflict just to reopen the Strait of Hormuz a "nightmare" for Israel, according to Al Jazeera. Radio host and Trump ally Mark Levin was similarly critical.

Then Trump made the normalization push. Within 48 hours, Graham called it "simply brilliant" and Levin called it "a truly massive accomplishment."

Same deal. Same week. The only thing that changed was Trump dangled Israel normalization in front of them.

What Coverage Is Getting Wrong

Left-leaning outlets like NBC News are correct that Trump's demand is being ignored — but they're framing it primarily as a competence failure without acknowledging the domestic political logic behind the move.

Center-right outlets are treating normalization as a legitimate near-term policy goal without confronting the basic fact that several named countries already recognize Israel, making the demand incoherent on its face.

The most important question remains unanswered: Is Trump trying to make a deal, or trying to kill one while looking like he tried?

The Regional Implications

If an Iran deal collapses, energy markets stay volatile, U.S. military presence in the region stays elevated, and American taxpayers keep funding it. Adding unworkable conditions to already-fragile negotiations is not a negotiating tactic — it's a way to blow up the table and blame the other guy.

Region's diplomats aren't buying it.