United States President Donald Trump has upended global diplomacy once again. In a characteristically blunt, late-night decree on Truth Social on May 25, 2026, Trump linked ongoing, high-stakes peace negotiations with Iran directly to a massive expansion of the Abraham Accords.
Trump declared it “mandatory” for major Muslim-majority nations—specifically naming Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, and Jordan—to simultaneously sign onto the Israel-normalization framework. The ultimatum from Washington is clear: back a total regional realignment with Israel, or get completely excluded from the economic and security rewards of the emerging Western Asia architecture.
For Pakistan’s military and civilian establishment, this is not just a diplomatic hurdle; it is a full-blown geopolitical trap.
The Dictat from Truth Social
Trump’s latest strategy treats decades of deep-rooted regional foreign policy like a real-estate negotiation. Following a series of high-level weekend phone calls with regional heads, including Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, Trump made it plain that Washington expects immediate compliance.
“After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords… It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all.”
— Donald Trump, US President
Trump explicitly singled out Saudi Arabia and Qatar to lead the charge by signing immediately, adding that any nation refusing to follow suit would be viewed as operating with “bad intention” and stripped of their seat at the table. In a striking twist, Trump even floated the idea of the Islamic Republic of Iran itself eventually joining the Accords once a formal settlement with Washington is finalized.
Islamabad’s Unraveling Trap
While countries like Egypt and Jordan have held long-standing peace treaties with Tel Aviv, and the UAE and Bahrain are already foundational members of the 2020 Accords, the American demand hits Pakistan with devastating force.
For 78 years, Pakistan’s state policy has been unyielding: absolute refusal to recognize the state of Israel until a viable sovereign Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital. Breaking this policy is domestic political suicide in Islamabad. Yet, the current military-backed regime relies entirely on Washington’s good graces to keep its collapsing economy afloat through IMF bailouts and international loans.
The Regional Standby
Can Trump actually force this mass alignment? Most security analysts are highly skeptical. Beyond the immediate fury it would cause among the public across the Middle East, key actors like Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have already stated that normalization cannot happen without addressing core regional security issues.
Furthermore, Iran has historically made it a cornerstone of its foreign policy to oppose the Abraham Accords. Tying a nuclear and trade settlement with Tehran to a mandatory requirement that its neighbors shake hands with Israel makes the entire peace process incredibly complicated.
The Bottom Line
Trump’s “Great Deal or No Deal” strategy proves that American foreign policy has abandoned conventional diplomacy for raw, corporate-style pressure tactics. By forcing a bankrupt Pakistan to choose between its foundational religious-geopolitical principles and absolute economic survival, Washington is testing the limits of its leverage.
The military elites in Rawalpindi can no longer run a double game—pleasing Washington behind closed doors while playing the anti-normalization card at home. Trump has brought the hammer down, and Pakistan must now decide if its historical policy on Israel is worth risking total financial ruin.