President Donald Trump, speaking at the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh on Wednesday, reiterated his desire to make a deal with Iran and called for building upon the progress of the Abraham Accords by adding more countries to the historic agreement.
Trump made the comments while addressing leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council as part of his four-day visit to the region.
“I want to make a deal with Iran. I want to do something if possible. But for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
TRUMP SAYS HE’LL DROP SANCTIONS ON SYRIA IN MOVE TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS
Trump praised the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for “their vision and courage in signing the historic Abraham Accords,” an agreement brokered by the U.S. in 2020. As part of the agreements, the UAE and Bahrain recognized Israel’s sovereignty and established full diplomatic relations. It marked the first time Israel had established peace with an Arab country since 1994, with the Israel-Jordan peace treaty.
“In the future, we’ll continue that progress by adding more countries to the Abraham Accords,” Trump said.
The remarks, made just moments after Trump met with Syria’s Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa on the sidelines, came a day after Trump announced his administration was lifting sanctions on Syria.
Trump also said that Lebanon had a “new chance for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists if the new president and prime minister can rebuild an effective Lebanese state.”
TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST TOUR BEGINS WITH SYRIA LOOMING AS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to forge a Lebanon that is prosperous and at peace with its neighbors,” Trump said.
At the end of his remarks, Trump appealed to the entire region more broadly, saying: “We’re going to forge a Middle East that will be a thriving commercial, diplomatic and cultural crossroads at the geographic center of the world. It’s what it is, it’s the center of the world.”
Trump will head to Qatar later Wednesday for his second stop on the four-day Middle East tour.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
