President Trump told leaders of several Arab and other Muslim countries during a Saturday conference call that if a deal to end the Iran war is achieved, then he wants their nations to sign peace agreements with Israel, per two U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the call.
Why it matters: Trump's remarks on Israel and the countries signing onto the Abraham Accords during the call signal the next big step he wants to take in the Middle East after the war.
A U.S. official with knowledge of the conversation said Trump told the leaders that he would call Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu next and stressed that he hoped that in the near future Israel's leader would be on the same call.
Trump told the leaders that after the war with Iran ends he expects all of them who are still not part of the Abraham Accords or don't have peace agreements with Israel to join and normalize relations with the Jewish state, two U.S. officials said.
The leaders, especially those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan who don't have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, were surprised by Trump's request.
"There was silence on the line, and Trump joked and asked if they are still there," one of the U.S. officials said.
Trump then told the leaders that his envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will follow up on this issue in the coming weeks.
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