US President Donald Trump on Friday once again linked the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia to the kingdom’s joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing ties with Israel.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said, “I just say that in order to do it, they have to be a member of the Abraham Accords, which have been very successful. But it's time now that they do it."
“They and others didn't want to do it because of the problem that they had with Iran. You don't have that problem anymore. You don't have a great power there anymore," continued the President.
“You have a problem, but the problem is disappearing day by day. They were the bully of the Middle East. They were not going to be that much of a bully anymore, probably," he said of Iran.
“At some point they'll join [the Abraham Accords]," the President continued, referring to Saudi Arabia. “They'll join, and they'll do their civil nuclear, no enrichment, it's civil nuclear."
Trump also commented on the talks with Iran, saying, “They want to make a deal. I just don’t think they’re ready yet. Sometimes they say they don't want to make a deal - they want to be the tough guys."
“There's two ways: we can take them apart piece by piece, or we can negotiate with them, which is what we are also doing right now. As we speak, we are talking to them," he added.
The US and Saudi Arabia officially signed their civil nuclear deal on Wednesday, a day after reports surfaced that Trump approved the agreement.
Trump on Thursday clarified in a post on social media that the deal with Saudi Arabia would be dependent on the Abraham Accords, dismissing speculations that he separated the two issues, reversing the policy of former President Joe Biden.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)