WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that any agreement with Iran should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements aimed at normalizing relations with Israel that were forged during Trump’s first term.

In a social media post, Trump said negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the agreements first signed in 2020.

He pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should “immediately” sign on, followed by Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.

He wrote that “after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords.”

The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday.

Trump suggested he may accept “one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties.

It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed, or how Abraham Accords membership might affect an agreement. He suggested even Iran could eventually sign on, if an agreement is reached.

The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and more recently, Kazakhstan.

They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.

ANKARA (AP) — Members of Turkey’s main opposition party were locked in a standoff Sunday outside the party headquarters with most members refusing entry to the new court-ordered leadership.

The standoff at the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, has been escalating since Thursday, when an appeals court nullified the November 2023 party congress, where Ozgur Ozel was elected to replace then-chair Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The ruling suspends Ozel and members of the party’s executive board and orders them to be replaced by Kilicdaroglu and others who held party posts before the November 2023 congress. The opposition says the decision was politically motivated to weaken the party as it struggles under waves of legal cases targeting its members and elected officials.

Kilicdaroglu, 77, had left the post following a 13-year tenure as leader, during which the CHP failed to win any national elections. Meanwhile, Ozel, in his first and only election as party leader delivered a decisive blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party in the 2024 municipal polls.

The next presidential election is due in 2028, but Erdogan can call for an early vote. His main challenger, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a CHP member, has been imprisoned since March last year and is on trial on corruption charges.

Many observers have said the legal cases against the CHP — mostly centered on corruption allegations — are aimed at neutralizing the party ahead of the next election. The government insists that Turkey’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

The vast majority of the party has rallied behind Ozel. He and most of the party having been inside the CHP headquarters in the capital Ankara since Thursday’s ruling, with the new administration unable to enter. The rival teams were supposed to meet Sunday afternoon to figure a way out of the impasse.

Local media reported that a crowd showed up outside the office that Ozel claimed were not CHP members but were sent to intimidate. Police presence was steadily growing since morning, and Kilicdaroglu’s lawyer, Celal Celik, sent a request to Ankara police to assist in vacating the building. The Ankara Governor’s office released a statement approving the request.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey, first as prime minister and then as president, since 2003. His electoral record suffered a setback in 2019, when the CHP seized control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, Imamoglu emerged as a popular and charismatic figure who many felt could successfully topple Erdogan.

ISTANBUL (AP) — A standoff between the chairman of Turkey’s main opposition party and his predecessor, who was reappointed by court order, escalated Friday.

An appeals court in the capital of Ankara on Thursday nullified the November 2023 party congress of the Republican Peoples’ Party, or CHP. At the congress, Ozgur Ozel was elected to replace then-chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The appeals court’s decision suspended Ozel and members of the party’s executive board from their duties. They will be “provisionally” replaced by Kilicdaroglu and those who held office before the November 2023 congress.

The opposition claims the decision was politically motivated.

Last year, a lower court ruled against claims of irregularities and misconduct surrounding Ozel’s election but Thursday’s decision overturned the original verdict.

The government defended the case against the CHP, arguing the allegations of corruption during the party congress come from party members. They included most notably former Antakya Mayor Lutfu Savas, who was expelled from the party over disciplinary issues in December 2024 and filed the case to overturn the November 2023 party congress two months later.

The CHP immediately appealed Thursday’s ruling, which was rejected by the court Friday. An appeal to the Supreme Election Council was similarly rejected in the evening, but an appeal to the Supreme Court by Ozel was accepted.

On Friday, Kilicdaroglu removed the three CHP lawyers who had filed the appeal, and local media reported that he had already begun calling former colleagues to establish his own executive board. Local media also reported that he had changed his profile on X from “7th chairman of the CHP” to “chairman of the CHP.”

The 77-year-old Kilicdaroglu left the post following a 13-year tenure as leader, during which the CHP failed to win any national elections. Meanwhile, Ozel, in his first election following the chairmanship, delivered a decisive blow against Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party during the 2024 municipal elections.

Thursday’s ruling dealt a serious blow to the beleaguered CHP as it struggles under waves of legal cases targeting its members and elected officials.

The next presidential election is due in 2028 but Erdogan can call for an early vote. His main challenger, the CHP Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, has been imprisoned since March last year and is on trial on corruption charges.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, who oversaw several cases against the CHP in his former role as Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, described the court’s ruling as one that “reinforces our citizens’ trust in democracy.”

Many observers have said the legal cases against the CHP — mostly centered on corruption allegations — are politically motivated and aimed at neutralizing the party ahead of the next election. The government, however, insists that Turkey’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey, first as prime minister and then as president, since 2003. His electoral record suffered a setback in 2019 when the CHP seized control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, Imamoglu emerged as a popular and charismatic figure who many felt could successfully topple Erdogan.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli government on Thursday released and deported hundreds of flotilla activists who attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Outrage abroad over the activists’ treatment prompted several countries to summon Israeli envoys to hear their concerns.

About 420 activists departed Israel on planes bound for Turkey, where they landed Thursday evening in Istanbul. Wearing grey sweatsuits and Arab keffiyehs, they descended stairs to the runaway flashing two-fingered salutes and chanting “Free Palestine.” Some appeared to be limping.

All of the activists were expected to be taken for a medical checkup, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “all foreign activists” from the flotilla had been deported.

The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, said one participant who holds Israeli citizenship, Zohar Regev, was released following a court hearing on charges of illegal entry into Israel and unlawful stay. Regev has taken part in previous flotillas to Gaza.

Netanyahu calls for quick deportation after rebuking security minister

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he instructed that the activists be deported “as soon as possible,” after sharply rebuking Israel’s national security minister for provocative videos showing the minister taunting detained flotilla activists who were handcuffed and kneeling.

Netanyahu said that although Israel has every right to stop “provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters,” the way National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”

Ben-Gvir released videos Wednesday showing him walking among some of the detainees. In one, activists with their hands tied behind their backs are kneeling, their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area on the deck of a ship.

Several countries, including Britain, France and Portugal, summoned Israeli envoys on Thursday over concerns about the treatment of flotilla activists and in protest of Ben-Gvir’s actions.

“The actions of Mr. Ben-Gvir toward the passengers of the Global Sumud flotilla, condemned even by his own colleagues in the Israeli government, are unacceptable,” French foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. Turkey, Greece, Italy and Indonesia also condemned Israel for Ben-Gvir’s comments and the treatment of flotilla activists.

Italian detainees describe abuses by Israeli forces

Two Italian citizens who had been detained by Israel returned home Thursday, saying they had been beaten and mistreated — allegations that were denied by Israeli prison officials

Dario Carotenuto, an Italian lawmaker, said he experienced the “longest seconds” of his life when Israeli forces pointed rifles at activists inside a detention facility.

“They kicked me in the legs and punched me in the face,” said Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian newspaper journalist.

The allegations were “false and entirely without factual basis,” said Zivan Freidin, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prison Service.

Dozens of the activists’ boats began setting sail from Spain to Gaza in April. Israel stopped 20 vessels from the group on April 30 near the southern Greek island of Crete and forced most of its activists to disembark.

Israel took two high profile activists — Spanish-Swedish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila — back to Israel where they were interrogated and detained for around a week before being deported.

The activists accused Israel of torture, claims Israel denies. Brazil and Spain condemned Israel for “kidnapping” their citizens.

Participants then regrouped and more than 50 boats departed from the Turkish port of Marmaris on May 14. Israeli forces began stopping the boats about 268 kilometers (167 miles) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website.

Israel has repeatedly blocked similar attempts

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has called the flotilla “a PR stunt at the service of Hamas.” The boats carry a tiny, symbolic amount of aid.

This week, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions against several European activists aboard the flotilla, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called “pro-terror.”

Last year, Israeli authorities blocked a similar attempt involving some 500 activists.

Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.

Blockade of Gaza in place since 2007

Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Israeli authorities intensified it after the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.

Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment. Israel says it’s intended to prevent Hamas from arming itself.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attacks that started the war has killed more than 72,700 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t give a breakdown between civilians and combatants. It is staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community. ___ AP journalists Andrew Wilks in Istanbul; Silvia Stellacci in Rome; Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court on Thursday issued a ruling that effectively removed the head of the country’s main opposition party by annulling a 2023 congress that elected him.

The move deals a serious blow to the beleaguered Republican People’s Party, or CHP, as it struggles under waves of legal cases targeting its members and elected officials.

An appeals court in Turkey’s capital Ankara declared the CHP congress that picked Ozgur Ozel as chairman to be null, ordering that he should be replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Last year, a lower court ruled against claims of irregularities and misconduct surrounding Ozel’s election but Thursday’s decision overturned the original verdict.

The ruling led to frantic meetings at the CHP’s Ankara headquarters, further threatening the opposition’s chances of unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after more than two decades in office. Large crowds gathered outside the office block and police erected barriers.

The next presidential election is due in 2028 but Erdogan can call for an early vote. His main challenger, the CHP mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, has been imprisoned since March last year and is currently on trial on corruption charges.

The appeals court’s decision suspends Ozel and members of the party’s executive board from their duties. They will be “provisionally” replaced by Kilicdaroglu and those who held office before the November 2023 congress.

In comments to broadcaster TV100, Kilicdaroglu called for party members to remain calm. “Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally,” he said. The 77-year-old was removed following a 13-year tenure as leader, during which the CHP failed to win any national elections.

Ozel, meanwhile, attempted to rally supporters.

“I am not promising you a path to power through a rose garden,” he posted on X following the ruling. “I am promising you the ability to endure suffering but never surrender. I am promising you honor, dignity, courage and struggle!”

The CHP is expected to challenge Thursday’s ruling in the Supreme Court in the coming days.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, who oversaw several cases against the CHP in his former role as Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, described the court’s ruling as one that “reinforces our citizens’ trust in democracy.”

Many observers have said that the legal cases against the CHP — mostly centered on corruption allegations — are politically motivated and aimed at neutralizing the party ahead of the next election. The government, however, insists that Turkey’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey, first as prime minister and then as president, since 2003. His electoral record suffered a serious blow in 2019 when the CHP seized control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, Imamoglu emerged as a popular and charismatic figure that many felt could successfully topple Erdogan.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces intercepted Tuesday six remaining vessels from a much larger activist flotilla attempting to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Two other boats are still on their way to the Palestinian territory, according to the activist group’s livestream.

A live feed on the Global Sumud Flotilla website showed armed Israeli soldiers on Zodiac boats boarding the Andros, Zefiro, Don Juan, Alcyone and Elengi vessels as activists donning life vests held their arms up. Israeli soldiers then destroyed cameras mounted on the activists’ boats.

This is the group’s latest effort to underscore the grim living conditions of nearly 2 million Palestinians in the coastal territory, suffering from severe shortages of housing, food, and medicine.

The flotilla boats were stopped around 90-100 miles (145-160 kilometers) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website tracker.

The vessels departed last week from the port of Marmaris, Turkey, in what flotilla organizers described as the final leg of their planned journey to Gaza’s shores.

Detained activists ‘being forcibly transported,’ group says

On Monday, the Israeli navy stopped some 41 boats from the activist flotilla in international waters off Cyprus, detaining those on board.

The Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement Tuesday the hundreds of detained activists from over 40 nations were “being forcibly transported” by an Israeli naval ship to an unnamed port, due to arrive at its destination shortly.

More than a dozen Irish nationals were aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, including the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly. Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Monday called Israel’s interception of the Gaza-bound boats in international waters “absolutely unacceptable.”

The Flotilla said it demanded the “immediate, unconditional release of all our participants, alongside the more than 9,000 unjustly detained Palestinian political prisoners” and urged world leaders to press for the same.

The activist group also warned of “grave and immediate concerns” about the physical safety of all those detained following testimonies from other activists detained during an Apr. 30 interdiction. At the time, the activists detailed “patterns of torture, severe physical abuse, and invasive sexual violence” by Israeli forces, allegations Israel denies.

Several nations have condemned the interdictions, with Turkey and Hamas calling them an act of “piracy.” Italy, Spain and Indonesia called on Israel to release all the detained activists and to ensure their safety and well-being. An estimated 45 Spanish nationals took part in the flotilla.

Israel had called the flotilla “a provocation for the sake of provocation” with no real intent to deliver any aid to Gaza. The boats carry a symbolic amount of aid.

The Israeli defense body overseeing humanitarian aid to Gaza claims that sufficient aid is entering the territory, with around 600 trucks delivering assistance daily, similar to prewar levels.

According to a World Food Program report, the number of humanitarian and commercial trucks entering the Gaza Strip declined sharply in March compared with previous months following the Iran war. A daily average of only 112 trucks entered in March, compared to 230 in February and 225 in January.

A nearly two-decade blockade

Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since the Palestinian militant group Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, which Israeli authorities intensified in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage.

Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment.

Israel has said the blockade, which restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza, was meant to prevent Hamas from arming itself. Egypt, which has the only border crossing with Gaza not controlled by Israel, has also greatly restricted movement in and out of the enclave.

Gaza has seen near-daily Israeli fire with more than 850 people killed in the territory despite a ceasefire that went into effect in October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry says Israel’s retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attack has killed more than 72,700 people. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, does not give a breakdown between civilians and militants.