Witkoff says 'big announcement about Abraham Accords' expected: Can Trump ease Israel's relations with Arab nations?

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff sparked conversation about the Trump administration's next big announcement by saying that additional countries will join the Abraham Accords. Witkoff also noted that he and his team are working in coordination with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department to "get more countries to come into the Abraham Accords. He made a similar prediction at an Israel Independence Day event last month. The Abraham Accords was Trump's first term's major achievement under the US' then Middle East man, Jared Kushner. It was even said that Trump's West Asia tour earlier this year was an attempt to expand the Accords, which Trump holds very dear, and even wanted a Nobel Peace Prize for it.

“We think we will have big announcements on countries that are coming into the Abraham Accords,” he said in a CNBC interview.
One of the President's key objectives is that the Abraham Accords be expanded," Witkoff added. "We are hoping for normalisation across an array of countries that people never would have contemplated would come in, so we are excited for that prospect; it will also be a stabiliser in the Middle East," he also said. Robert Greenway, known as the architect of the accords, said that he is optimistic about the upcoming developments.

Earlier, it was also hinted that Donald Trump had talks on the Abraham Accords during his West Asia tour earlier this year. Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became a game-changer as he met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, visited a mosque in Abu Dhabi and had several interactions with business leaders to religious leaders.

What is Abraham Accords?

Announced during the first term of Trump, the Abraham Accords is an agreement under which diplomatic relationship is established between Israel and several Arab states, on the mediation of the United States(US. In 2020, Bahrain and the UAE became the first Arab countries to recognise Israel after Jordan in 1996. Later, Sudan and Morocco also established diplomatic relationships with Israel. Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who worked as his advisor to the President of the United States in his first term, was instrumental in the signing of this accord. Often referred to as an offwing of the Oslo Accords, the Abraham Accords were a part of Trump's peace plan that he announced in 2020.

In the statement about the Abraham Accords, US said that the goal is to "promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue", "end radicalization and conflict", pursue a vision of peace, security, prosperity in the Middle East", and strengthen "peace based on mutual understanding and coexistence." It further said that the to achieve this goal, the US encourages expansion of "friendly relations" between Israel and its neighbours.