Leiter Urges Stronger, Broader Abraham Accords After Congressional Forum

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, called for strengthening and expanding the Abraham Accords in a statement posted early Friday, November 13. He welcomed a congressional forum bringing together House Foreign Affairs Committee members and ambassadors from the accords’ partner countries. Leiter described the forum as an important step and presented the accords as an expression of regional moderation in opposition to extremism exported by Iran. He wrote: “Congress can play a key role in making the Middle East a safer, more prosperous place.” His statement responded to the committee’s announcement of the gathering. In that November 11 announcement, the committee said Chairman Brian Mast had convened its first congressional forum with Abraham Accords ambassadors. It listed regional cooperation, challenges facing the partners and Congress’s role in the accords’ next chapter as subjects of the discussion. Earlier cooperation efforts included a September 24 roundtable in New York organized by the N7 Foundation. Its account named U.S. Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker and counterparts from Bahrain, Israel, Kazakhstan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates among those brought together. N7 founder and chairman Jeffrey M. Talpins chaired that meeting, where participants reaffirmed the accords’ principles and emphasized practical cooperation.