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This edition of Newstrack explores the massive geopolitical implications of US President Trump's sweeping decree linking the proposed Iran peace deal directly to the Abraham Accords.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching NewsTrack with me, Maria Shaquille.
00:03Just when backchannel diplomacy over Iran appeared to be gaining momentum,
00:08U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the stakes dramatically
00:11with a sweeping Abraham Accords decree in what could become the biggest attempt
00:17yet to create a new West Asia power order.
00:22Trump has linked the proposed Iran peace deal directly to the Abraham Accords
00:27and is virtually demanding that key Arab nations sign on the dotted line.
00:32Donald Trump has said that negotiations with Iran are proceeding nicely
00:37but has also issued a blunt warning, great deal for all or no deal at all.
00:42And the biggest headline here is that Donald Trump now warns Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan and Turkey
00:51to join the Abraham Accords framework with an extraordinary pitch
00:55that even Iran itself could eventually become part of the bloc.
01:01The message from Trump is crystal clear, sign the Accords are risked being left out of the new regional order.
01:08But this decree comes with massive geopolitical implications.
01:13Remember, the Abraham Accords were originally built as an anti-Iran strategic bloc,
01:19bringing Israel and Gulf Arab nations together to isolate Tehran.
01:25The U.S.-backed Israel-Gulf axis was designed to counter Iran's regional influence
01:31through security cooperation, intelligence sharing and economic partnerships.
01:36Now, Trump warns to flip that very framework by pulling Iran into the same regional arrangement.
01:43Supporters say this could trigger the biggest West Asia reset in decades,
01:49while critics warn that Abraham Diktat could derail the Iran peace talks
01:54or create deadlocks in negotiations and test ties between Washington and key Arab allies
02:04reluctant to openly align with Israel.
02:08So, what really is the big message?
02:10Why has U.S. President taken to Truth Social to put out this message?
02:16Or should I say his latest diktat?
02:18Geeta Mohan is joining us live.
02:20Geeta, by linking Abraham Accords to Iran deal,
02:26is this almost like a non-starter?
02:29Or is Donald Trump essentially saying that there are several facets of the Iran deal
02:34which is yet unraveling?
02:36Absolutely, Maria.
02:38There are two very important aspects apart from all the others
02:41which are layered in the entire West Asian geopolitics.
02:46Firstly, telltale signs of what Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel really want.
02:52They do not really want an end to the conflict or the war with Iran
02:57unless and until there is a desired result,
02:59which is basically regime change, giving up of nuclear ambitions completely.
03:05None of that has really come through for the United States of America or Israel.
03:10Secondly, there are political compulsions that we see within America.
03:14When President Trump announced the deal with Iran or the so-called deal that the two sides could sign in
03:21the near future,
03:22then there were Republican senators and lawmakers who had come out and criticized it in Lindsey Graham fronting that charge,
03:31saying that it is absolutely unacceptable.
03:33So domestically, he will have to face a lot of heat if he goes ahead with a deal with Iran
03:39without having secured Israeli interests.
03:43And so he has now found a way wherein he wants to have the conversation, negotiate with Iran,
03:50but also ensure that there is normalization of ties between Israel and the Arab world.
03:55And not just the Arab world, this time they have included Turkey and Pakistan as well.
04:00So again, we have to wait and see how Iran responds to this.
04:03It certainly seems like an absolute deal breaker, should Abraham Accord, which, like you very rightly pointed out,
04:09was an accord that was built as an anti-Iran bloc.
04:15And to have that not just exist but expand is absolutely unacceptable to Iran.
04:22Would you say that the word mandatory, which has been used by U.S. President, has complicated the situation right
04:30now?
04:30And what could have been the last stages that we were discussing of U.S.-Iran deal has actually taken several
04:38steps backward?
04:38Or are you of the opinion that, like in the past, Donald Trump can do a rethink and he'll say
04:43that that was just a statement that he had put out?
04:45Well, I think it's the former.
04:47That it has complicated matters, particularly for countries like Saudi Arabia.
04:52Remember, there's a huge, and we've been discussing this off-screen as well, Maria,
04:56there's a tiff between MBS and MBZ and that's out in the open when it comes to West Asian politics.
05:01Saudi Arabia and the UAE do not see eye to eye.
05:04The UAE, not so long ago, aligned itself with Israel.
05:08It is a part of the Abraham Accord.
05:10And Saudi Arabia has fronted the charge against Israel when it comes to the actions in Gaza at the United
05:17Nations and the United Nations Security Council.
05:19So for Saudi Arabia to really come and engage Israel in a manner where ties normalize and they have diplomatic
05:28relations is something that might not be absolutely feasible right now.
05:32But remember, Donald Trump also said for some countries where it is not a workable solution right now, there is
05:38some leeway he's going to give.
05:39And I suppose that leeway would only exist for Saudi Arabia, a very important strategic partner of the United States
05:45of America and one where the Trump family has huge stakes and investments.
05:50So maybe Saudi Arabia is the only country that might get that leeway, Turkey, of course, being a NATO ally.
05:56But everyone else, for Pakistan, it's going to be a real catch-22 because, Maria, Pakistan will have to pay
06:03heed to what America, what President Trump says.
06:06But on the other hand, with more than 20% population, Shia population in Pakistan, aligning itself and recognizing Israel
06:14is not an option.
06:15All right, Geeta, thank you for joining us and putting the story in context for our viewers.
06:19Joining me on the show tonight, Dr. Tara Kartha, former director of NSCS, James Borden, is a Middle East expert
06:26who's joining me as well.
06:27James, I'm going to come to you first.
06:29How should this latest diktat of Donald Trump be seen?
06:33I mean, for him to say that this is mandatorily requested Muslim majority nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, to join
06:44the Abraham Accords as part of the West Asia peace deal,
06:47what was supposed to be a U.S.-Iran, has now expanded into the entire Arab world and not just the
06:53Arab world, other Muslim nations as well, which includes Pakistan and Turkey.
06:58Well, so let me analyze this through a couple of different lenses.
07:03I think this is where you're going to see the United States.
07:05I think he's going to be seeing the United States, which is a little bit ahead of himself and a
07:09little bit drunk on his own success, where he saw a lot of breakthrough with Iran and an advancement.
07:15I think now it's gone to his head a little bit, and he's thinking, hey, now I can, you know,
07:20push this a little bit further.
07:21And he has really pushed it, I think, too far for many of the reasons that have already been stated.
07:28But let's understand at root here the entire reason why we are in this conflict.
07:34This all started because Saudi Arabia was going to join the Abraham Accords back in early 23.
07:42And the Palestinians, the Gazans, wanted to interrupt that and break that from happening.
07:49And so they invaded, they attacked Israel and brought us into the Israeli Hamas War, which has morphed into these
07:56Iranian wars.
07:57So the entire reason that has gotten us to this point is all of that in the past.
08:04And since that time, Israel has done nothing but build up a tremendous amount of discredit with themselves towards the
08:12Arab countries.
08:12Let's go back to just September 9th of 2025, when Israel hit Qatar, hit Hamas, and I think killed at
08:21least one, maybe two Qatari officials in Doha.
08:25So Trump is not heeding the lessons of the immediate past and understanding that these countries that he wants to
08:35suddenly turn around and sign a huge agreement with Israel.
08:38They've got a lot of problems with this current government in Israel.
08:42Yes, that's right.
08:43And it would take...
08:44So, but is it a win more for Netanyahu, less for Donald Trump, James?
08:51Oh, I...
08:53Well, I don't think Netanyahu is going to get a win out of this because he's got, again, so much
08:58ill will built up against him.
09:01I think that any benefactors of this agreement would be the next government, which could come in between...
09:07Any time between now and October the 27th, that's when Israeli elections are mandated.
09:14I don't think that any of these governments want to do anything to bolster the image and the success of
09:22Netanyahu.
09:23Okay.
09:23Dr. Tadakarta, the deal, that is, Abraham Accords, was first brokered under Donald Trump's first presidency.
09:32That was in 2020, and it did lead to some kind of normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
09:41But given the tension, or should I say several Arab nations, but given the tension which has emerged in the
09:49current West Asia war,
09:51which has changed the dynamics totally, can Abraham Accords really take this forward?
09:57Can that be really the direction of a possible deal between Israel and the Arab nations?
10:04Or is that a tall ask?
10:08Maria, it's an extremely tall ask.
10:12And from, I mean, we all know that, I mean, even President Biden, right, he had tried to push the
10:17same line.
10:18Abraham Accords, you know, Accords.
10:19And the fact that, you know, Bahrain, UAE joined at all, it was because Saudi Arabia agreed.
10:24I mean, they actually facilitated that whole process.
10:29Now, I mean, Saudi Arabia has a huge Shia minority.
10:34Bahrain has a Shia minority.
10:37There's this whole Israel's, you know, this bombing they've done in Lebanon.
10:42How can you do this now?
10:43It's, I mean, it's literally asking for the moon.
10:46It's not possible.
10:47Even should the political leaders quietly want an end to this whole thing, they cannot do it, given the rage
10:56in most countries at what Israel has done.
10:58My sense is this is, again, a move to, I mean, thank God he's not linking this directly to the
11:08Iran peace deal.
11:09He's saying it's a follow on.
11:10Hopefully that's what he means.
11:11I'm not sure what he actually means.
11:14I hope this is an Israel's attempt to stop this peace deal.
11:18If that is the case, then, well, that's one move.
11:22Because even Israel knows that this is not going to happen.
11:26Because there has been silence on most fronts, if you look at it.
11:29We haven't heard from the Arab nations, any of the countries, and particularly Pakistan, which is actually being a dealmaker
11:37in this entire equation between Iran and U.S.
11:43Pakistan has been named as one of these nations who will come on board for this Abraham Accords.
11:49And, you know, to expect that all these nations, which have much to complain about Israel, will come on board,
11:57given the backdrop of a conflict, a life conflict with Iran, given what we know the role of Israel has
12:06been, what exactly is Donald Trump thinking?
12:09Or is he just not keen on a deal with Iran?
12:14You're asking me?
12:15Yes, ma'am.
12:15Yeah, see, let's face certain facts.
12:19Saudi Arabia has had underground deals with Israel since at least the 1960s, as far as I know.
12:25That's the reality.
12:26So has Pakistan.
12:27Not to that extent, but to many times it has reached out to Israel.
12:32Right?
12:32So that is a different entity.
12:34It's a different issue that at this point, that's what your point is, right?
12:38It is that now, after all this, that it is difficult for anyone.
12:42Iran, the great field marshal, who is the only person he, I think, mentioned, he didn't even mention the Prime
12:48Minister, Shabba Sharif, he's talking to the field marshal.
12:52The field marshal can't do this.
12:54It can't be done.
12:55So he will either have to, maybe, migrate to Texas or something like that.
12:59I mean, I don't know what this is going to happen.
13:02But, I mean, what Trump is talking to is actually this undercurrent of relations which goes on.
13:09They are all talking to each other.
13:11Okay, that is the reality.
13:13But the question is timing.
13:17And do you think that timing then, James Borden, is actually a problem?
13:21Or do you think that will also be, that Donald Trump understands that this deal will prolong, the talks are
13:29going on, there has been a lot of back and forth on the deal with Iran.
13:33So might as well throw another, you know, spanner in this argument and test it.
13:40Well, I think it's probably closer to that.
13:43You know, remember, I think it was late January, early February of 25 when he first came into office and
13:49Benjamin Netanyahu and he had a joint press conference.
13:53And at that press conference, he introduced the idea of rebuilding Gaza and doing it almost like a resort par
14:00excellence.
14:01And Netanyahu was just totally blown away because they had not talked about this at that moment.
14:06And again, I think this just really goes back to that fundamental, mental issue that we have with our president
14:13currently right now, where he has these off-the-cuff, very moments of great whimsy, where he tries to introduce
14:21something like this and accomplish a lot.
14:24And it's very scary because, yes, it does undermine what he is actually in the process of accomplishing, which is
14:32probably far more concrete and more immediately necessary.
14:35So I really want to put it in that context that Trump is such a moving and hard to pin
14:45down kind of metric here.
14:47And so in that context, I just think that we should not look at it too deeply as being some
14:54grand plan to either get it going forward.
14:57So why would he raise the stakes the way he has done and complicate the entire picture?
15:04Because, again, I think that Donald Trump really doesn't know his limitations.
15:10He's got these great ideas that run through his head.
15:13He doesn't check them with the NSC.
15:15He doesn't check them with any other important person.
15:17He just issues these things by fiat and wants them to be happening.
15:22And his people underneath him start running around trying to figure out how to put the pieces into place and
15:28put things back together.
15:30Trump is a very off-the-cuff, ad hoc kind of person.
15:35That is the way that he has been operating forever.
15:39But I think that has gotten up on steroids since he has gotten older and he is getting less mentally
15:46structured and competent.
15:47And we're beginning to see how that is really impacting foreign policy.
15:52I mean, he just really doesn't realize the impact of these kind of moments and suggestions that they really have.
16:00Okay.
16:02Dr. Tadakarta, Donald Trump has said that the proposal actually emerged during discussions with several regional leaders,
16:10which included MBS, President Erdogan, Emir Tameem bin Hamad Al Thani, and Pakistan's Army Chief, Asim Munir.
16:20So that's what he has said, that these are the countries with whom he seemed to have discussed.
16:29Is it about Iran deal at all then?
16:32Or is he just trying to have a blanket approach towards the entire Arab world?
16:40Listen, this is domestic politics.
16:43He has to show that he's got something out of the deal.
16:47Right now, he's back where he started.
16:49In fact, he's not even back where he started because Iran still has some control over Hormuz.
16:55And they're talking of, you know, environmental control, all that stuff.
16:59So you're actually minus one.
17:01So now how do you sell it back home?
17:03He can say, oh, you know, I've done this grand deal and everybody's on board.
17:07And it need not happen today or tomorrow or the day after or even six months.
17:12He just has to announce something.
17:14If this thing gets into everybody's news, you know, that's good enough for him.
17:19So his MAGA base gets a boost.
17:21And the same goes for Israel.
17:24Israel is also, he's also looking at his, I mean, this is all about domestic politics now.
17:28Both Israel and in the US and Iran, of course, I don't know who's in charge.
17:32But still, that's a different issue.
17:36But then where do we head from here onwards or are you, you know, because as we have seen,
17:43Donald Trump makes some announcements in the morning and he changes another announcements in the evening.
17:49But then because he has thrown in this entire new picture into the puzzle, the puzzle has got complicated.
17:5930 seconds to both of you.
18:00James Borden, go first.
18:02Oh, well, this might be a, you know, a two or three day news cycle item.
18:07And then I think that it will drop out, as you suggest.
18:10I think that it's going to, it has already brought Lindsey Graham back into the Trump fold.
18:17But I think that eventually it's just going to process out and nobody's really going to remember it.
18:24So I don't see anything long term really resulting from it.
18:28Okay, so nothing long term.
18:31How do you look at it, Dr. Tadakarta?
18:34Well, ideally, it would be great if it went on.
18:37I mean, finally, if that damn cold thing settles.
18:40But the fact that, I mean, remember, even the JCPOA didn't go through Congress.
18:43So he might just have this whole executive order thing going at.
18:47He really needs something before, you know, midterm polls.
18:51So maybe this could be it.
18:52But like you said, and as the other, the previous speaker said, nobody knows what is in his mind tomorrow,
18:59what's today.
19:00But in an ideal world, this would be the way to go.
19:05And it's been tried for some time.
19:08James Warden, Dr. Tadakarta, really appreciate your time.
19:11Thank you so much for joining us.
19:13Shifting focus to another story now.
19:15The Thrinamul Congress's crushing assembly poll defeat is now triggering visible cracks within the party.
19:22Senior Member of Parliament, Kakuli Ghosh Dastidar, has resigned as the party's Barasat Organizational District President,
19:29taking moral responsibility for the poll debacle.
19:32But Kakuli Ghosh Dastidar's resignation came with sharp criticism of the party's campaign style and internal functioning.
19:41She has also blamed IPAC for the election loss and has alleged that pressure from the consultancy team during the
19:48campaign disrupted the party's organizational functioning.
19:52Earlier today, I spoke with the TMC MP from Barasat and listened in to what she told me.
19:58I'm leaving you with this.
19:59Thanks so much for watching.
20:05TMC MP from Barasat, chairperson of the women's wing of the TMC and a four-time member of parliament.
20:15Ms. Ghosh Dastidar has been associated with Mahmata Banerji and has participated in multiple movements along with her.
20:24So she is the ultimate TMC insider.
20:27So I really appreciate your time, ma'am.
20:28Thank you so much for speaking to India today.
20:32Ms. Ghosh Dastidar, what has made you take this decision of quitting from the organizational district president's post of the
20:41TMC?
20:46This organizational district contains seven assembly segments where we used to have seven elected members of the legislative assembly in
20:59the past.
21:04So when five of those seats are lost in the election, then I take moral responsibility that there must be
21:14something wrong in my work or in my system of functioning for which I should not be there and let
21:22somebody else more efficient take over.
21:25You are saying moral responsibility is the reason why you have quit from the party post, but ma'am, it
21:32was a BJP wave with the BJP winning with a landslide of two-third majority in the assembly.
21:39So it is not just your assembly segments which have been lost.
21:43Similar is the picture across Bengal.
21:49Who do you hold responsible then?
21:51I have been in politics for the last 40 โ let me finish.
21:56I have been in politics for 45 years.
22:00The other district presidents may not be there for so long as I have been.
22:05I have been with Mamata Banerjee since 1984.
22:09I know her method of functioning.
22:12I know how she works for the common man.
22:14I know how hard she works.
22:16So the other people, the other district presidents are yet to realize or take decision, I guess.
22:25But since I have been here for so long, then I took this decision and I feel that the party
22:32to undergo revival and have a turnaround.
22:37More efficient people should take over.
22:40Okay.
22:40And will you be continuing in the TMC or are you having a rethink of staying within the TMC also?
22:50Of course, I am working.
22:51Even yesterday we had a meeting.
22:53We are working for the people.
22:54I will be working as a common worker.
22:58Who do you hold responsible for this route of the TMC?
23:05The overall dismal picture.
23:07One thing is that after 15 years of governance, anti-incumbency creeps up.
23:17So that might be one issue.
23:19The other issue definitely is the specialized intensive revision which actually should have been given much more time because it
23:30takes a long time to do this kind of intensive revision.
23:33And after the intensive revision, some of the names were left out, lacks of voters, valid voters were left out
23:42under adjudication.
23:43So all the voters couldn't cast their votes, couldn't practice franchise.
23:48That's another issue.
23:49But these people standing in the line and voting definitely points to some kind of grievance towards the governance which
23:57we have to accept because government changes every five years in Kerala or in Tamil Nadu, in other states, in
24:04other countries.
24:05In democracy, people have a right to choose their government.
24:09So that issue is also important.
24:11There must be some kind of dissatisfaction for which people didn't vote.
24:17Yes, the dissatisfaction and the anti-incumbency certainly was palpable on the ground.
24:22And I'm saying as a journalist who was traveling across the state, Ms. Dastidar, how much of the strategy of
24:31the TMC went wrong?
24:33How much of the IPAC functioning was responsible?
24:38Did IPAC keep you informed about the ground shifting, that the things on the ground are not in the favor
24:46of TMC?
24:47They would be doing some surveys and research.
24:52They have no clue about electoral politics.
24:56The young people who came in, they might be highly educated.
25:00They might be having knowledge from the books.
25:03But people who work on the ground, the workers were maligned, the workers were left idle.
25:10The workers were not included in the day-to-day electioning process.
25:14And those IPAC people who were working, they took all kinds of wrong decisions.
25:20And at every step, they failed their job.
25:23They failed their job.
25:23And so they failed his job.
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