Last week's meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman turned tense when the discussion shifted to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with Israel, Axios reported Tuesday.
According to Axios, Trump entered the meeting hopeful that — with the Gaza war over — he could secure a breakthrough on Saudi-Israeli normalization.
Publicly, the two leaders praised one another and projected unity. But behind closed doors, Trump grew frustrated when MBS resisted immediate movement toward a deal, according to the report.
White House officials had signaled to the crown prince beforehand that Trump expected progress on normalization. During the Nov. 18 meeting, Trump personally raised the issue and pressed MBS hard to join the Abraham Accords, a signature foreign policy achievement of his first term.
Saudi Arabia quietly supported the Accords in 2020 but refused to sign, largely due to King Salman's insistence on Palestinian concessions and the kingdom's political and religious sensitivities.
In later years, Riyadh sought normalization only as part of a sweeping U.S.-Saudi package involving a defense pact, advanced weapon systems and a civilian nuclear program. Those talks made headway under President Joe Biden but stalled after the Israel-Hamas war, though Saudi officials have continued to express conditional interest.
Axios reports that the turning point in last week's meeting came when Trump pushed for an immediate commitment and MBS pushed back. The crown prince told Trump he still supports normalization in principle but cannot move forward now because Saudi public opinion is sharply anti-Israel following the Gaza conflict.
"Saudi society isn't ready," three sources familiar with the meeting told Axios.
One U.S. official described the tone to Axios as "disappointment and irritation," saying Trump "really wants them to join the Abraham Accords" and "tried very hard to talk him into it," but MBS "stood his ground."
The crown prince also reiterated the condition he has now stated publicly: Saudi Arabia will require Israel to commit to "an irreversible, credible and time-bound path" toward a Palestinian state as part of any normalization deal. Israel's current government strongly opposes such a move.
"MBS never said no to normalization," a U.S. official told Axios. "The door is open for doing it later. But the two-state solution is an issue."
A White House official told Axios that Trump remains committed to expanding the Abraham Accords as part of his vision for a more stable and prosperous Middle East.
"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," the official said.
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