WASHINGTON—Sunday marks the fourth anniversary of the historic Abraham Accords peace deals in the Middle East. The bilateral agreements negotiated by the Trump administration and signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain at the Trump White House on September 15, 2020, and then by Sudan and Morocco later in the same year, normalized relations between Arabs and Israelis for the first time in several decades.
Heritage Director of the Allison Center for National Security Robert Greenway and member of the team that negotiated the Abraham Accords made the following statement in response to the anniversary of the historic agreements:
“I had the privilege to sit front row as President Trump and nation leaders involved in the Abraham Accords signed the most significant diplomatic agreements in the Middle East in a quarter century.
“These agreements were the most critical breakthrough in a region notorious for intractable problems and conflict. Four years later, the Middle East faces the greatest risks to peace and stability since 1979 due to the Biden-Harris administration’s pursuit of Obama-era policies of appeasing Tehran, isolating Israel and our allies, and squandering American deterrence in the region.
“The failure to support and expand these agreements—which have already brought $10 billion to these countries—constitutes national security malpractice and is perhaps the most alarming indication that greater risk lies ahead.
“There are two competing visions for the Middle East which could not provide a starker contrast. One that provides genuine promise and potential to build on convergent interests, while the other results in the subordination of U.S. interests and those of our partners and allies which sows chaos.
“It’s not too late to choose peace.”
Heritage Vice President of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy Victoria Coates added:
“The Biden-Harris administration inexplicably reversed course from the historic peace deals of the Trump administration and tried to return to the failed Obama-era policy of engaging and appeasing Iran.
“Their feckless foreign policy has put the Middle East in flames. There have been nearly 200 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than ever before, and Israel is isolated and confronting their greatest threats since 1973.
“President Trump’s historic peace agreements reveal that progress towards stability, and prosperity can be made in the Middle East. But it must take strong leadership to stay true to course—which the current administration lacks.”