Trump calls on Middle Eastern countries to join Abraham Accords
"Now that the nuclear arsenal being 'created' by Iran has been totally OBLITERATED, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern Countries join the Abraham Accords," Trump wrote in a social media post.
As part of the Abraham Accords, signed during Trump's first term in office, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation.
Efforts to expand the accords have been complicated by a soaring death toll and starvation in Gaza.
The war in Gaza, where local authorities say more than 60,000 people have died, has provoked global anger. Canada, France and the United Kingdom have announced plans in recent days to recognise an independent Palestinian state.
Trump's administration is actively discussing with Azerbaijan the possibility of bringing that nation and some Central Asian allies into the Abraham Accords, hoping to deepen their existing ties with Israel, according to five sources with knowledge of the matter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Trump says to move homeless people 'far' from Washington
The Republican billionaire has announced a press conference for Monday in which he is expected to reveal his plans for Washington -- which is run by the locally elected government of the District of Columbia under congressional oversight. It is an arrangement Trump has long publicly chafed at. He has threatened to federalize the city and give the White House the final say in how it is run. "I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before," the president posted on his Truth Social platform Sunday. "The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital," he continued, adding that criminals in the city would be swiftly imprisoned. "It's all going to happen very fast," he said. Washington is ranked 15th on a list of major US cities by homeless population, according to government statistics from last year. While thousands of people spend each night in shelters or on the streets, the figure are down from pre-pandemic levels. Earlier this week Trump also threatened to deploy the National Guard as part of a crackdown on what he falsely says is rising crime in Washington. Violent crime in the capital fell in the first half of 2025 by 26 percent compared with a year earlier, police statistics show. The city's crime rates in 2024 were already their lowest in three decades, according to figures produced by the Justice Department before Trump took office. "We are not experiencing a crime spike," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday on MSNBC. While the mayor, a Democrat, was not critical of Trump in her remarks, she said "any comparison to a war torn country is hyperbolic and false." Trump's threat to send in the National Guard comes weeks after he deployed California's military reserve force into Los Angeles to quell protests over immigration raids, despite objections from local leaders and law enforcement. The president has frequently mused about using the military to control America's cities, many of which are under Democratic control and hostile to his nationalist impulses.
LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
Europe pushes for Ukraine role in Trump-Putin talks
European leaders pushed on Sunday, August 10, for Ukraine to be a part of the negotiations between the United States and Russia, ahead of talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The two leaders will meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday to try to resolve the three-year war, but Europe has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict. EU foreign ministers will discuss the next steps before the talks in a meeting by video link on Monday, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart. The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Zelensky has raised concerns that a deal would require Kyiv to cede swathes of territory, which the EU has rejected. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement, urging Trump to put more pressure on Russia. In a flurry of diplomacy, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky held calls with 13 counterparts over three days including Kyiv's main backers Germany, Britain and France. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday said he hoped and assumed Zelensky will attend the leaders' summit. Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said any deal between the United States and Russia to end the war in Ukraine must include Kyiv and the bloc. "President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine. The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security," Kallas said. "I will convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers on Monday to discuss our next steps," she said in a statement Sunday. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga will also take part in the meeting on Monday afternoon, the ministry said. Territory sticking point NATO head Mark Rutte told ABC's This Week broadcast on Sunday that Trump was "putting pressure on Putin," adding: "Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end." New Le Monde's app Get the most out of your experience: download the app to enjoy Le Monde in English anywhere, anytime Download Ukraine's military said on Sunday it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the Russian army which has made significant recent gains. The village is on the frontline in the north of the country and about 20 kilometers west of the main fighting between the two armies in the northern region. As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO. Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield. The EU's Kallas backed Kyiv's position on Sunday. "As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine," the EU foreign policy chief said. NATO's Rutte said it was a reality that "Russia is controlling some of Ukrainian territory" and suggested a future deal could acknowledge this. "When it comes to acknowledging, for example, maybe in a future deal, that Russia is controlling, de facto, factually, some of the territory of Ukraine. It has to be effectual recognition and not a political de jure recognition," Rutte told ABC's This Week.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Israel PM says new plan for Gaza 'best way to end the war'
Defending his plan in a press conference in Jerusalem, the premier said the new operation would be implemented on "a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end". More than 22 months into the war, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, the country is gripped by a yawning divide pitting those demanding an end to the conflict and a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see the Palestinian militants vanquished once and for all. Criticism both at home and abroad has only intensified after Netanyahu's security cabinet announced plans Friday to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City. But Netanyahu was defiant on Sunday, telling journalists gathered for a rare press conference: "This is the best way to end the war, and the best way to end it speedily." "I don't want to talk about exact timetables, but we're talking in terms of a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end," he added. The premier said the new operation's aim was "to dismantle the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps", while establishing secure corridors and safe zones to allow civilians to leave the area. "Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas. Now we've done a great deal. We have about 70 to 75 percent of Gaza under Israeli control, military control," he said. "But we have two remaining strongholds, OK? These are Gaza City and the central camps in Al Mawasi." 'Just another plan' The press conference came ahead of a UN Security Council meeting called to discuss the situation in Gaza and the new Israeli plan. It also came a day after thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv to protest the security cabinet's decision. "The new plan is just another plan that is gonna fail, and it could very well be the end of our hostages, and of course, it will take probably more lives of our soldiers," protester Joel Obodov told AFP. The premier has faced regular protests over the course of the war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a ceasefire and hostage-release deal after past truces saw captives exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Netanyahu, however, has also come under pressure from the far right to go harder on Hamas, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slamming the new plan as half-hearted. "They decided once again to repeat the same approach, embarking on a military operation that does not aim for a decisive resolution," Smotrich said in a video posted online. The far-right members of Netanyahu's cabinet, including Smotrich, have maintained considerable influence in the premier's coalition government throughout the war -- with their support seen as vital to holding at least 61 seats for a parliamentary majority. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, also of the far right, told Kan radio on Sunday: "It is possible to achieve victory. I want all of Gaza, transfer and colonisation. This plan will not endanger the troops." 'We will win' Meanwhile, the cabinet's decision to expand the war in Gaza has touched off a wave of criticism across the globe. On Sunday, the UN Security Council met to discuss the latest development. "If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings and destruction," UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council. Foreign powers, including some of Israel's allies, have been pushing for a negotiated truce to secure the hostages' return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the territory following repeated warnings of famine taking hold. Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained firm. "We will win the war, with or without the support of others," he told the press on Sunday. "Our goal is not to occupy Gaza, but to establish a civilian administration in the Strip that is not affiliated with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority," he said. Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable. According to Gaza's civil defence agency, at least 27 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory Sunday, including 11 who were waiting near aid distribution centres. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
