The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) last week grew tense when the issue of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with Israel was raised, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two US officials and a source familiar with the discussion.
With the war in Gaza over, Trump had hoped the encounter would mark a breakthrough toward Saudi-Israeli normalization. Publicly, both leaders praised one another and avoided signs of disagreement, but behind closed doors the conversation was difficult, according to the report. Officials said Trump was disappointed by MBS’s pushback.
White House officials had informed the Crown Prince ahead of the November 18 meeting that Trump expected progress on normalization. During the meeting, Trump pressed MBS to join the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 as a centerpiece of his first-term foreign policy. At that point, the exchange became heated, according to Axios.
MBS explained that while he wants to move forward with normalization, Saudi society is not ready in the aftermath of the Gaza war, citing strong anti-Israel sentiment. “The best way to say it is disappointment and irritation. The President really wants them to join the Abraham Accord. He tried very hard to talk him. It was an honest discussion. But MBS is a strong man. He stood his ground,” one source said.
The Crown Prince demanded that Israel agree to “an irreversible, credible and time-bound path” for a Palestinian state as part of any peace deal. He later made that demand public. Israel’s government opposes such a path.
A US official noted, “MBS never said no to normalization. The door is open for doing it later. But the two-state solution is an issue.”
A White House official said Trump has outlined his vision of a prosperous Middle East, centered on expanding the Abraham Accords. “Now that Iran’s nuclear program has been totally obliterated and the war in Gaza has ended, it is very important to President Trump that all Middle Eastern countries join the Abraham Accords, which will advance peace in the region,” the official stated.
The Saudi embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
MBS’ reported comments are in line with past remarks made by Saudi officials, who have long stated that a Palestinian state would be a condition for Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel.
Saudi Arabia and Israel appeared to be on track towards normalization before Hamas’ attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. After the massacre, Saudi Arabia put the US-backed plans to normalize ties with Israel on ice.
Trump said in an interview last month that he expects an expansion of the Abraham Accords in the near future and expressed hope that Saudi Arabia will join the pact.
“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,” the President said.