Leaked Trump phone call left Arab leaders silenced as he makes demand in Iran deal
Donald Trump reportedly left the leaders of several Arab countries stunned after suggesting they should work closer with Israel in an attempt to bring an end to the fighting in Iran.
The president is said to have held phone calls with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan in recent days to push them them to join the Abraham Accords.
The 2020 agreement establishes diplomacy between Israel and Arab states, and Trump believes a deal could bring an end to the war and see the much-talked about Strait of Hormuz reopened.
Arab leaders are said to have been so surprised by the demand during the conference call that they remained in silence as Trump continued pressing ahead with his ideas, according to a report by Axios.
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After an awkward silence, Trump is said to have joked: "Are they still there?"
Trump has even called for Iran to join the agreement despite obvious tensions, while the president also suggested it 'should be mandatory' for the countries to join the pact.
The POTUS wrote on Truth Social: "After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign on to the Abraham Accords."
Trump added: "It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be."
However, as you'd probably expect, Iran is having none of it and downplayed the possibility of an imminent end to the conflict.
Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesman, told press: "It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion. But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim."
Axios also reported that Trump had urged those negotiating that they shouldn't 'rush into a deal, in that time is on our side'.
The president went on to say that any deal would 'either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal'.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, spoke to press during a visit to New Delhi recently and provided an update on a potential deal with Iran.
"We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the [Strait of Hormuz], get the straits open," the Trump administration official said.
"It has a lot of support in the Gulf ... every country that we’ve walked through it [with] understands it’s not just very reasonable, but it’s the right thing for the world to get done."
Topics: Donald Trump, Israel, Iran, US News
Callum Jones