**UPDATE**

The addition of Bahrain to the peace agreement is official.

President Trump tweeted the news:

**ORIGINAL**

President Trump is expected to announce the addition of Bahrain to his historic peace deal between the UAE and Isreal, further advancing peace in the Middle East. The expected announcement follows hints from Trump that a third country could join the normalization agreement.

According to Times of Isreal:

In the weeks since the normalization deal was announced on August 13, US and Israeli officials have said other Arab states will follow the UAE’s lead and normalize ties with Israel, with speculation including Oman and Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain agreed to allow Israeli planes to use their airspace following the normalization agreement, in what was seen as a significant step toward warmer relations, but have expressed hesitation about normalization with Israel.

Bahrain’s king recently told White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who is a key player in the normalization push, that Manama would only ink a deal in concert with Saudi Arabia; and Riyadh’s crown prince told Kushner that an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord must precede any normalization agreement, in line with the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

…

For his part, Trump on Thursday made a point in lauding UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his willingness to formalize relations with Israel. Trump called the UAE’s de facto leader a “warrior” and said “Mohammed’s very excited about this.”

President Trump was nominated earlier this week for a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in brokering this historic deal.

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