Dramatic leaked Donald Trump phone call that stunned world leaders into silence
US president Donald Trump dropped a 'mandatory request' on world leaders in the Middle East over the weekend that would overturn almost 80 years of foreign policy in the region.
A ceasefire between the US and Iran had been in place for seven weeks as talks over ending the conflict, which started earlier this year when the Americans and Israel launched their missiles, could take place.
During this time, Trump has repeatedly threatened to bring greater force to bear on Iran, while the closure of the economically vital Strait of Hormuz has caused price rises and disruptions all over the world.
And it seems the US president has been turning up the heat on his demands.
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According to Axios, Trump was recently on a call with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain to discuss his attempts to make a peace deal with Iran.
Trump claimed on Saturday (23 May) that a deal has been 'largely negotiated', but the following day, he announced he was telling his officials 'not to rush into a deal'.
Axios reports that two US officials leaked details of the phone call and said that the world leaders supported the US in trying to secure a deal with Iran, but that Trump stunned them into silence with one of his demands for them.
They report that Trump told the other leaders the next time they were calling he hoped Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be with them.
He also said that once the war with Iran was over, he expected all countries that weren't part of the Abraham Accords or didn't have their own peace agreement in place with Israel would have to sign up to normalise relations with the country.
The Abraham Accords are a series of agreements that normalised diplomatic relations between Israel and several countries, with Bahrain, the UAE, Sudan and Morocco signing up.
Of the countries on the call with Trump, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Qatar don't recognise Israel.
He also apparently wants Iran to sign the Abraham Accords, which most experts agree seems unlikely to happen.
The US officials said 'there was silence on the line' after the president laid out his condition for a peace deal, adding that the silence went on long enough that 'Trump joked and asked if they are still there'.
He ended up saying his envoys would discuss the matter with them further in the coming weeks.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump thanked the countries he'd been speaking with and said he really wanted them to join the Abraham Accords.
He wrote: "I would like to thank, thus far, all of the countries of the Middle East for their support and cooperation, which will be further enhanced and strengthened by their joining the Nations of the historic Abraham Accords."
He added in a longer post: "It should be mandatory that all these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously sign onto the Abraham Accords.
"It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be.
"It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar and everyone else should follow suit. If they don't they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intentions.
"This will be the most important Deal that any of these Great, but always in Conflict Countries, will ever sign. Nothing in the past, or in the future, will surpass it. Therefore, I am mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords."
Trump also shared a meme showing his predecessors, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, trying to negotiate with a terrorist who declared they would 'blow s**t up', and then a picture of himself captioned 'I will blow s**t up' and the terrorist asking to negotiate.
Topics: Donald Trump, Iran, Israel, US News
Joe Harker