Trump claims Saudis told him ‘yesterday’ they’re willing to join Abraham Accords
While Riyadh has insisted that it needs pathway to Palestinian state, US president reiterates that normalization deals will soon pile up now that Gaza war over, Iran threat neutered
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US President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Saudi officials indicated to him “as recently as yesterday” that they’re willing to join the Abraham Accords, which he expects will be expanded “soon.”
Trump reiterated his belief that Arab and Muslim countries will be able to normalize relations with Israel now that a ceasefire has been reached in Gaza and the Iranian nuclear threat has been neutered.
“I hope to see Saudi Arabia go in, and I hope to see others go in. I think when Saudi Arabia goes in, everybody goes in,” Trump told Fox News.
Asked if Saudi officials have indicated to him a willingness to do so, Trump responded, “They have. Even as recently as, like, yesterday. I had some very good conversations.”
It’s unclear whether Trump actually spoke directly with Saudi officials. Earlier this week, Trump told reporters, “I spoke to Hamas, and I said, ‘You’re going to disarm, right?’ ‘Yes, sir. We’re going to disarm.’”
Surprised that he was holding direct conversations with Hamas, a reporter pressed him on the matter and Trump acknowledged that the message was passed along by his “people.”
Reporter: "Do you expect an expansion of the Abraham Accords?"
President Trump: "I do…The Abraham Accords are a miracle in a way, and the four countries that went in initially…they stayed in and they're doing incredibly well…I hope to see Saudi Arabia go in, and I hope to… pic.twitter.com/sq0GHB7kTZ
— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) October 17, 2025
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stated that it will not normalize relations with Israel unless Jerusalem agrees to establish a credible, time-bound, irreversible path to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did verbally agree to Trump’s 20-point peace plan that states, “While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”
The plan’s final point states that the “US will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.”
But in the speech unveiling the plan, Trump recognized Netanyahu’s “understandable” opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state and has later said that he hasn’t made a decision on whether he backs a two-state solution — without which Saudi Arabia will not join the Abraham Accords.
Moreover, the deal actually signed by Israel and Hamas in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last week did not include the second half of Trump’s plan that focused on a potential two-state solution.
Still, Trump has been bullish about the chances for expanding the Abraham Accords now that the Gaza ceasefire is in place.
“I don’t want to use the word immediate, but soon,” he told Fox News.
He hailed the countries that already signed on in 2020, noting that they did so “courageous[ly]” while Iran was a much stronger regional power, before the US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear program in June 2025.
Trump acknowledged the Saudi resistance to normalizing ties with Israel when he visited the Gulf kingdom in May, telling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “You’ll do it at your own time.”
“They couldn’t have done it during the war. They couldn’t have done it with the fight that was going on with Iran,” Trump told Fox News on Friday.
For a short while earlier this week, it appeared that Indonesia was going to be the first country to join the Abraham Accords since the end of the Gaza war, as its Prabowo Subianto weighed a historic visit to Israel on Tuesday after a summit of world leaders on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh.
But shortly after the plan was leaked to the press on Monday, Subianto’s office issued a fierce denial that such a trip had even been planned.
The Indonesian leader also made headlines with his speech at the UN General Assembly last month in which he asserted that the world must respect Israel’s right to live in security, and concluded his remarks with, “Shalom.”
Witkoff: Future for Gaza must include jobs, education, hope, aspirations
US special envoy Steve Witkoff also expressed optimism, as he has in the past, about “seriously expanding” the Abraham Accords on Thursday.
He said the US was committed to giving Gazans a better life now that the war is over, but appeared to stop short of committing to ensuring that that new life would include self-determination.
“Israel should never have to live under the threat of rockets flying at its people or the fear of terrorist attacks. But Gazan people must be able to live a decent life as well, or there won’t be a possibility for long-term peace,” Witkoff said in remarks at an event at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington commemorating the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
“Only when extremism ends can prosperity begin. Peace in the region will save countless lives of Israelis and Gazans alike, and bring dignity to those who have suffered for far too long,” Witkoff said, pledging to quickly expand the Abraham Accords.
Witkoff reiterated that “Hamas must unequivocally disarm, and they can have no future in Gaza; no future as they have been” — appearing to leave open the possibility that the US would accept Hamas remaining in the Strip if it undergoes an ideological transformation.
He went on to recall his two trips to Gaza over the past year.
“Each time I wear my black MAGA [hat], people come up to me on the Gaza side because they want peace too,” Witkoff continued.
“They want stability, opportunity, a better life for their children. A future for Gazans must include jobs, education, hope, aspirations — not just guns and violence,” he said.
Witkoff touted the integral role that the US president played in securing a ceasefire last week that has seen the release of all remaining living hostages.
“President Trump understands something most leaders forget — that moral clarity without strength means nothing, and it is that combination of conviction and power that has saved lives,” the US envoy asserted.
The Times of Israel Community.