US President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday he should be in line for international recognition for his efforts in brokering the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations.
"Maybe for the Abraham Accords," Trump remarked when questioned about a potential Nobel Peace Prize nomination. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself in this one.”
Trump made the comments while meeting at the White House with a Norwegian delegation that included Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
Emphasizing that momentum around the Abraham Accords remains strong, the President said, “We’re going to be filling it up. A lot of countries want to come into the Abraham Accords.”
He took aim at the Biden administration, accusing it of neglecting opportunities to expand the agreements which were signed during Trump’s first term in office.
“They’re great countries and they were brave doing it and it’s worked out very well and we’re going to be filling up the Abraham Accords … very rapidly,” Trump added, praising the original signatories for their courage and commitment.
The Abraham Accords were signed at the White House in September 2020 between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain, with Morocco and Sudan joining soon after.
The Abraham Accords were backed by the Biden administration, but it was unable to expand them with additional countries, despite efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to join.
Trump’s comments followed a report that Syria's new President Ahmed al-Sharaa is interested in joining the Abraham Accords if they take place under "the right conditions."
According to US Congressman Cory Mills, those conditions would include the removal of economic sanctions on Syria, as well as a peace agreement between Syria and Israel.
During his comments in the White House on Thursday, Trump also touched on Iran’s nuclear ambitions ahead of another round of talks between the US and Iran scheduled for this weekend.
Trump described the ongoing US engagement with Tehran as “very serious meetings,” signaling that diplomacy remains the preferred path.
“There are only two options. One option is not a good option at all,” Trump said, alluding to the potential for military intervention should diplomatic efforts fail.
However, he remained optimistic about the current trajectory of talks. “We’re doing very well on an agreement with Iran… that one is well in its way. We could have a very, very good decision, and a lot of lives will be saved.”