Bahrain and Israel agree to normalize relations, Trump announces
President Trump on Friday announced Bahrain and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic relations, an announcement that comes shortly after the United Arab Emirates and Israel said they would begin to normalize relations.
As a part of agreement with the UAE, Israel said it would suspend its plans to annex part of the West Bank, where up to 3 million Palestinians live.
Mr. Trump made the announcement on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, ushering reporters into the Oval Office. According to a joint statement by the U.S., Bahrain and Israel, the latter two countries agreed "to the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain."
Mr. Trump called this a "truly historic day" and declared it was "so interesting it's on 9/11."
"The sand was loaded up with blood, and now we're going to see a lot of that sand will be loaded up with peace," Mr. Trump said of the Middle East.
The president often says he will pull American troops out of foreign wars, and earlier this week, he committed to withdrawing 1,200 troops from Iraq.
"Even great warriors get tired of fighting, and they're tired of fighting," Mr. Trump said on Friday.
The president also said he believes something "very positive" can happen with Iran, and said he "can see a lot of good things happening with respect to the Palestinians." The president said many other countries in the Middle East "want to be in this."
Bahrain has accepted Mr. Trump's invitation to join Israel and the UAE for a signing ceremony at the White House on September 15, when Israel and Bahrain will sign an "historic declaration of peace."
— CBS News' Ben Tracy contributed to this report.
