Washington DC: The world has been hearing from Donald Trump about peace talks and negotiations with Iran for weeks and on end. Even US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is on a four-day visit to India, hinted in Delhi on Sunday that a deal could happen “maybe today.”
Well, it didn’t materialise. And on Monday, President Trump said that negotiations with Iran are proceeding nicely, but gave no timeline. He also issued a veiled warning to Iran.
“Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! 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!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth
Social.
Trump’s latest remarks on the Iran war come hours after he advised US officials, mediators and negotiators not to huddle into a peace deal, telling them that they can take time but should get it right.
‘Mandatorily requesting’
In another development, Trump has made a request to Pakistan and Arab nations to join the Abraham Accords as part of a larger deal with Iran.
In another long post on Truth Social, the US president said he was “mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords,” referring to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt and Jordan.
The Abraham Accords are a series of agreements brokered by the US to promote normalisation of diplomatic ties between Israel and Arab countries.
Soon after it was signed in 2020, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco gave their approval. Sudan has signed the agreement, but is yet to get it ratified in its parliament.
What will Pakistan’s response be to Trump’s request? Known to be close to Iran, can it antagonise Tehran by normalising relations with its enemy Israel?
The next few days will provide an answer.