US President Donald Trump on Friday urged Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, saying the kingdom would be “very helpful” to the region and claiming he had “saved” it from Iran. His remarks came as he renewed efforts to expand Arab-Israeli normalisation and highlighted Saudi participation as a potential breakthrough.
Trump repeated his argument that US pressure and military action had checked Iranian influence, while stressing that broader regional alignment around the accords remained a priority for Washington. The agreements, first signed in 2020 by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and later joined by Morocco, marked a major diplomatic shift by normalising ties without resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Saudi Arabia has long been viewed as the most significant potential participant, but Riyadh has consistently linked any move toward normalisation to progress on Palestinian statehood.
Saudi Arabia’s position remains politically sensitive, given its role as custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and its leadership within the Arab world. Regional dynamics have also evolved since Saudi Arabia and Iran restored diplomatic relations in 2023 under a China-brokered deal, ending a seven-year rupture. The rapprochement opened cautious dialogue between the rivals and was seen as a step toward easing tensions in the Gulf, although differences persist over regional security and conflicts in Yemen and Lebanon.
