National security adviser: White House ‘hopeful’ more nations will follow UAE on Israel

White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Sunday that the White House is “hopeful” more nations in the Middle East will join the United Arab Emirates and formalize ties with Israel. 

O’Brien told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that administration officials including himself, President Trump, Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have “fanned out” to speak with other leaders.

“We think that there’s momentum for some additional parties to join and to normalize relations with Israel,” he said. 

“So we’re quite hopeful that we can build on this momentum,” the adviser added. 

.@RobertCOBrien says the administration is “hopeful” they can get other countries to sign on to a peace talks following the Israel-UAE deal. “We’re confident that we think that a couple of other countries are going to get on board soon.” #MTP #IfItsSunday

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 16, 2020

O’Brien said he was unable to provide a timeline for getting more countries to join saying “these are the toughest negotiations in the world.”

“We’re confident that we think that a couple of other countries are going to get on board soon,” he said. 

When asked about Saudi Arabia in particular, O’Brien said, “It’s possible they could be next.”

“I’m hoping that King Salman and … Mohammed bin Salman see that development and realize that this will be great for Saudi Arabia, it’ll be great for Arab people and it’ll be great for the Islamic world as well,” the adviser said.

But he added they were talking to “a number of countries in addition to Saudi Arabia.”

The Israel-UAE deal announced last week came as a win for the president, who has suffered lower approval ratings based on his handling of the coronavirus virus. Strategists estimate it will give Trump a boost ahead of the 2020 election.