Senior US Senator Lindsey Graham has launched a sharp public broadside against Pakistan, declaring it 'more than problematic' as a regional mediator after the country rejected US President Donald Trump's call to join Abraham Accords. According to reports from Times Now, Graham demanded that Islamabad formally respond to Trump's call to join the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab states. Speaking about Pakistan's Defence Minister's remarks, Graham feared the sentiment is fresh and stated it is 'imperative that Pakistan give an answer now' to President Trump's call to join the Abraham Accords. 'President Trump's most recent proposal requiring expansion of the Abraham Accords as part of a negotiated settlement to the Iran conflict is simply brilliant and would result in the most significant change in the Middle East in thousands of years,' Graham wrote on X after expressing concern about the contours of the peace deal with Iran. The senator has now urged the US to seek another mediator if Pakistan continues to protect Iranian interests while rejecting the Abraham Accords.
Graham stated that Pakistan's 'long-standing animosity towards Israel' made its role as any kind of diplomatic intermediary untenable. As reported by Times Now, the senator made a pointed claim that Iranian military aircraft are being housed on Pakistani air bases — an allegation that, if accurate, would represent a significant escalation in concerns about Islamabad's regional alignments. 'It has been apparent to me for quite a while that Pakistan as a mediator is more than problematic. Their animosity towards Israel is long-standing. It is undeniable that Iranian military aircraft are being housed on Pakistani air bases, and past rhetoric from the highest Pakistani officials against Israel is disturbing,' Graham said in his post on X. The senator has now urged the US to seek another mediator if Pakistan continues to protect Iranian interests while rejecting the Abraham Accords.
The senator's remarks were directly triggered by comments from Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who publicly rejected any agreement involving Israel, stating it clashed with Pakistan's 'fundamental ideologies'. In an interview with Pakistani broadcaster Samaa TV, Asif was asked about the possibility of Pakistan signing onto the Abraham Accords following reported pressure and diplomatic signalling by US President Donald Trump. 'Personally, I don't think we should join any such accord that clashes with our fundamental ideologies,' Asif said during the interview. He further questioned the credibility of engagement with Israel, saying 'How will you sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day?' and reiterated Islamabad's long-standing position, saying 'We have a very clear stance that this is not acceptable to us.' Asif also highlighted Pakistan's unique stance, stating 'And secondly, on our passports, we are the only country whose passports don't even include Israel's name.'
This development comes after Trump pushed for several Muslim and Arab nations to join the Abraham Accords as part of a broader regional settlement tied to potential negotiations with Tehran. In a very lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said negotiations with Iran were 'proceeding nicely' and called the proposed arrangement a 'Historic Event' for the Middle East. He urged countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain to simultaneously sign onto the Abraham Accords. 'Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! It will only be a Great Deal for all or no Deal at all,' Trump wrote. The Abraham Accords are a landmark US-mediated agreement signed in 2020 that led to the normalisation of diplomatic, economic, and security ties between Israel and multiple Arab countries. Since Trump was re-elected in 2024, he has sought to expand accords with little success, with only Kazakhstan joining in November despite already having full diplomatic relations with Israel.
