In his phone call Saturday with the leaders of several Middle East nations, President Donald Trump reportedly “stunned” those on the call into “silence” with a last-minute demand, and to such an extent that the president “asked if they [were] still there,” Zeteo and Axios reported.
The phone call occurred on the same day Trump had announced that a deal to end the U.S. war against Iran was within reach, during which, the president floated a new requirement to leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, one that he apparently had not raised before, per two U.S. officials who spoke with Axios.
Per the officials, Trump insisted that any deal to end the war include a requirement for those on the call to join the Abraham Accords, the 2020 Trump-brokered agreements designed to normalize relations with Israel.
“The leaders, especially those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan who don't have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, were surprised by Trump's request,” Axios reported over the weekend. "’There was silence on the line, and Trump joked and asked if they are still there,’ one of the U.S. officials said.”
Trump doubled down on his new ask on Monday, despite the reaction he received when first floating the proposal on Saturday.
“On Memorial Day, Trump said talks were ‘proceeding nicely’ but also stuck to his unlikely new plan, saying ‘it should be mandatory’ that Muslim countries join the Abraham Accords,” Zeteo reported Tuesday. “He was, he insisted, 'asking my Representatives to begin, and successfully complete, the process of signing these Countries into the already Historic Abraham Accords.'"