&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Pakistan must answer now’: Lindsey Graham questions Islamabad's role as mediator, backs Trump’s Abraham Accords push")
US Senator Lindsey Graham has publicly questioned Pakistan’s credibility as a mediator in the ongoing Iran-Israel crisis, citing what he described as Islamabad’s longstanding hostility toward Israel and its close ties with Tehran. In a post on X, Graham said it had become ‘apparent’ to him that Pakistan acting as a mediator was 'more than problematic', pointing to reports of Iranian military aircraft allegedly being housed on Pakistani air bases and recalling anti-Israel remarks made by senior Pakistani officials.
In a post on X, he wrote, “It has been apparent to me for quite a while that Pakistan as a mediator is more than problematic. Their animosity towards Israel is long-standing. It is undeniable that Iranian military aircraft are being housed on Pakistani air bases and past rhetoric from the highest Pakistani officials against Israel is disturbing. As to the defense minister’s comments about the Abraham Accords, saying that Pakistan would never join because they don’t trust Israel: The clip may be a year old, but I fear the sentiment is fresh. In that regard, it is imperative that Pakistan give an answer now to President Trump’s call to join the Abraham Accords.”
The Republican senator also referenced past comments by Pakistan’s defence minister regarding the Abraham Accords, in which he reportedly said Pakistan would never join the normalisation framework because it does not trust Israel. “The clip may be a year old, but I fear the sentiment is fresh,” Graham wrote, before urging Pakistan to respond to President Donald Trump’s recent call for more Muslim-majority nations to join the Abraham Accords.
Trump has in recent days intensified efforts to expand the Abraham Accords as part of a broader diplomatic push linked to a potential US-Iran agreement and post-war regional settlement. Reports suggest the US president has urged countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to consider normalization with Israel. The remarks come at a sensitive moment in Middle East diplomacy, with Washington attempting to balance ceasefire negotiations with Iran while simultaneously encouraging regional recognition of Israel. Graham, one of Trump’s closest allies on foreign policy, has emerged as a vocal supporter of tying any future Iran agreement to a wider expansion of the Abraham Accords.
Pakistan has historically refused to recognize Israel, maintaining that normalization cannot happen without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Islamabad has also repeatedly condemned Israeli military operations in Gaza and maintained diplomatic support for Iran during recent regional tensions. Graham’s comments are likely to further complicate Pakistan’s attempts to position itself as a diplomatic bridge in the ongoing crisis, particularly as Islamabad has recently engaged in ceasefire and backchannel diplomacy involving Tehran and Washington.
