By The South Asia Times

RIYADH – A sharp diplomatic clash erupted after US Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent pro-Israel voice, warned Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan that refusing to join the Abraham Accords would have "severe repercussions" – drawing an unusually blunt rebuke from Riyadh, warning Washington not to resort to "threats and blackmail."

The exchange comes as President Donald Trump pushes to finalize a landmark peace deal with Iran, with regional realignments hanging in the balance.

In a post on X, Graham, a pro-Israeli and Indian senator, said that if Arab and Muslim allies agree to join the Abraham Accords – the US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel – "it would make this agreement one of the most consequential in the history of the Middle East."

"Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords would be beyond transformative for the region and world," Graham wrote. "It is a brilliant move by President Trump."

But the senator then issued a stark warning:

"To Saudi Arabia and others: Now is the time to be bold for the future of a new Middle East. I expect, as President Trump has suggested, you will in fact join the Abraham Accords effectively ending the Arab-Israeli conflict. If you refuse to go down this path as suggested by President Trump, it will have severe repercussions for our future relationships and make this peace proposal unacceptable. Further, it would be seen by history as a major miscalculation."

Graham urged Trump to "stick to your guns" on both the Iran deal and insisting on Arab participation in the Abraham Accords.

Within hours, a response from Abdulsalam Saleh, a Saudi national and an analyst, delivered a pointed rebuttal from "the heart of Riyadh."

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not need lessons in 'boldness' from anyone," the statement read, noting that Riyadh launched its "International Coalition for a Two-State Solution" on May 22, bringing together 165 nations.

 "If you issue a statement linking the continuation of relations or threatening 'grave repercussions,' you are thereby – in the most blatant manner – undermining the historic strategic relationship between the Kingdom and the United States. Such crude language is unbecoming of allies."

 "Who inspired you to ask us to join the Abraham Accords as if you were doing us a favor or dictating our choices? Our position on the Palestinian cause is not a bargaining chip, and neither threats nor enticements will sway it. There will be no peace without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."

 "History proves that Riyadh has never bowed down, and will not bow down today. Rest assured that history will remember those who led the world towards a just peace, and it will remember those who gambled on the language of threats and blackmail and lost the bet. Do not misjudge the situation… again."

Trump, who during his first term brokered the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, has made expanding the accords to include Saudi Arabia a key foreign policy goal. However, the Saudi position has not shifted despite US pressure.

Meanwhile, Pakistan also refused to join any accord and establish ties with Israel.

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that personally, he doesn't think that Pakistan should join any such accord that clashes with their fundamental ideologies.

"How will you sit down with those people whose word cannot be trusted even for a single day? We have a very clear stance that this is not acceptable to us. And secondly, on our passports, we are the only country whose passports don't even include Israel's name," he told a local tv channel.