US official says more states may be ready to recognize Israel - with regional deal first
As-salamu alaykum. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that a number of countries could be open to normalizing relations with Israel, but he added that any moves would likely wait until a wider regional agreement is reached. Speaking during a tour of a US-led multinational center in Israel focused on coordinating a ceasefire in Gaza, Rubio suggested a lasting end to the fighting could encourage more nations to join the Abraham Accords framework, under which several Arab states established ties with Israel in 2020.
He told reporters that “we have a lot of countries that want to join” and that some could possibly be added now if the political will existed, but that US officials are aiming for a larger, coordinated effort. Rubio did not name specific countries, saying leaders needed to consider their domestic audiences, though he hinted some prospective partners are more significant than others.
There have been reported talks between the United States and Saudi Arabia about possible normalization - a sensitive topic given the kingdom’s role as guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites - but those discussions slowed after the war in Gaza began following Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel. Both former US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu view the Abraham Accords, which included the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, as major diplomatic achievements.
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