New Country Expected to Join the Abraham Accords
The United States plans to announce that a new country will soon join the Abraham Accords, agreements under which several nations have normalized relations with Israel, according to President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
"I'm flying back to Washington tonight because we're going to announce, tonight, another country coming into the Abraham Accords," Witkoff stated during the America Business Forum in Miami.
When asked by interviewer Bret Baier of Fox News which country would be joining, Witkoff replied that he was unsure if the information had been publicly released yet.
Kazakhstan Reportedly Next to Join
The news site Axios reported that the new participant is likely to be Kazakhstan, a Central Asian republic that has maintained diplomatic relations with Israel for decades. The move is said to be aimed at helping "reinvigorate" the accords. Kazakhstan's president is among five Central Asian leaders scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House in November.
Background on the Abraham Accords
During President Trump's first term, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco normalized relations with Israel in 2020. Saudi Arabia had also been engaged in discussions with the United States about potential normalization, a step that would mark a historic milestone given the kingdom’s role as the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites.
However, after the outbreak of war in Gaza following Hamas’s October 2023 assault on Israel, Saudi Arabia paused these talks. The kingdom reiterated that it could not proceed with normalization without tangible progress toward establishing an independent Palestinian state—a goal opposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Author’s Summary
The U.S. is preparing to announce Kazakhstan’s entry into the Abraham Accords, signaling renewed momentum in Arab-Israeli diplomacy under President Trump’s leadership.