Is the Middle East on the verge of an unprecedented geopolitical shift? Senator Lindsey Graham speculated on X regarding the outlines of the incoming administration’s ambitious policy plan today (Sunday). According to Graham, Trump intends to link negotiations with Iran to a dramatic expansion of the Abraham Accords.
Graham suggested that Trump will set a clear condition for ending the conflict with Iran: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan must join the normalization circle with Israel. “If in fact as a result of these negotiations to end the Iranian conflict, our Arab and Muslim allies in the region agreed to join the Abraham Accords, it would make this agreement one of the most consequential in the history of the Middle East,” Graham wrote.
Graham didn’t hold back praise for the president, calling his strategy “brilliant.” He said incorporating Muslim powers like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia into the accords would change the face of the region forever and lead to an effective end to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
But alongside the diplomatic “carrot,” Graham delivered a “stick” in the form of a sharp warning to countries considering rejecting the proposal. “Now is the time to be bold for the future of a new Middle East,” Graham addressed leadership in Riyadh and Doha. “If you refuse to go down this path as suggested by President Trump, it will have severe repercussions for our future relationships and make this peace proposal unacceptable. Further, it would be seen by history as a major miscalculation.”
The senator also addressed Trump directly, urging him not to compromise in future talks with the ayatollah regime in Tehran. “Stick to your guns in getting a good deal with Iran,” Graham wrote, “equally important, stick to your guns in insisting Saudi Arabia and others join the Abraham Accords as part of these negotiations.”