Pakistan rejects Donald Trump's invite to sign Abraham Accords, says ‘not acceptable’: What are they?

United States President Donald Trump, in a very lengthy post on Truth Social, invited countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain to sign onto the Abraham Accords. He also called on Iran to join the Abraham Accords as the peace deal between America and Tehran nears its finalisation. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has hinted that the deal could be finalised today, 25 May, adding that Trump was treading carefully in negotiations with Iran.

Trump posted on inviting Iran to join the Abraham Accords, which deal with establishing diplomatic, economic and security ties between Israel and Arab nations.

“I would like to thank, thus far, all of the countries of the Middle East for their support and cooperation, which will be further enhanced and strengthened by their joining the Nations of the historic Abraham Accords and, who knows, perhaps the Islamic Republic of Iran would like to join, as well!” he said.

Trump also hit out at former US President Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and suggested that Iran could join the Abraham Accords.

“I would like to thank, thus far, all of the countries of the Middle East for their support and cooperation, which will be further enhanced and strengthened by their joining the Nations of the historic Abraham Accords and, who knows, perhaps the Islamic Republic of Iran would like to join, as well,” Trump said.

"Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all," Trump wrote.

What Pakistan said

Pakistan has rejected the offer to sign the Abraham Accords, saying it is conflicts with its fundamental ideologies. In an interview to a Pakistani TV, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said, “Personally, I don't think we should join any such accord that clashes with our fundamental ideologies.”

Questioning the credibility of engagement with Israel, the Pakistani Defence Minister added, "How will you sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day?"

What are Abraham Accords and why they matter?

The Abraham Accords are a set of agreements to normalize relations with Israel. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain signed in 2020 during Trump's first term, breaking a longstanding taboo to become the first Arab states to recognize Israel in a quarter century. Morocco and Sudan followed suit.

As per the Abraham Accords declaration, the nations have agreed to maintain and strengthen peace in the Middle East and around the world. They have agreed to address challenges through “cooperation and dialogue and that developing friendly relations among States advances the interests of lasting peace in the Middle East and around the world.”

The agreements boost trade, tourism and defence cooperation and maximize human potential among signatories. By signing the Accords, the nations “pursue a vision of peace, security, and prosperity in the Middle East.”

While Trump has invited Iran to join the Abraham Accords, Tehran has historically refused to recognize the country.

The US-Iran peace deal

As the United States and Iran continue to negotiate to end the conflict in West Asia, Trump has reportedly instructed his administration to tread carefully.

In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said, “If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of CASH, and a clear and open path to a Nuclear Weapon.”

He added, “Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet. So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about. Unlike those before me who should have solved this problem many years ago, I don’t make bad deals!”

Speaking about the peace deal with Iran, Rubio said, “Work still in progress. We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today. So we have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the Strait, get the Straits open, enter into a very real, significant time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matters and hopefully we can pull it off.”

(With agency inputs)