What changed?
Formal relations opened pathways for embassies, official dialogue, travel, trade, tourism, technology, investment and other bilateral cooperation.
An educational guide fromThe Virtual Embassy of Iraq in IsraelThe Learning Center · Learning & Civic Education
Deep dive · Abraham Accords · Interactive guide
What are the Abraham Accords? An interactive guide
Learn what the Abraham Accords are, which countries entered the framework, what happened in 2020, what normalization changes in practice, what the agreements do not settle, and why Iraq is a separate legal and political question.
This is an educational explainer. It distinguishes signed agreements, later regional cooperation, political advocacy and unresolved disputes rather than treating them as the same thing.
The 60-second answer
The Abraham Accords began as Arab–Israeli normalization agreements in 2020 and later grew into a wider diplomatic framework.
The core 2020–2021 normalization tracks involved Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, with the United States playing a central brokering role. The legal instruments were not identical: the UAE signed a full normalization treaty; Bahrain a peace and diplomatic-relations declaration; Morocco a trilateral joint declaration; and Sudan signed the Abraham Accords Declaration while full bilateral implementation later stalled amid political upheaval and war. In November 2025, Kazakhstan announced accession to the Abraham Accords. Kazakhstan is a different case because it had already maintained diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992.
What did not change automatically?
The Accords did not by themselves resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, settle every regional dispute or make every Arab or Muslim-majority state a participant.
Is Iraq a member?
No. Iraq is not a signatory and Iraqi Law No. 1 of 2022 criminalizes normalization with Israel.
Timeline
How the framework took shape
Follow announcements, signatures and later accession separately; they are different diplomatic acts.
Israel–UAE breakthrough announced
The United States, Israel and the UAE announced an agreement to move toward full normalization.
Bahrain joins the normalization track
Bahrain and Israel announced that they would establish full diplomatic relations.
White House signing ceremony
Israel and the UAE signed a treaty of peace, diplomatic relations and full normalization. Israel and Bahrain signed a declaration of peace and diplomatic relations, alongside the Abraham Accords Declaration.
Israel–Sudan normalization announced
Sudan and Israel announced agreement to normalize relations. Later Sudanese political instability and war complicated implementation.
Morocco joint declaration signed
Morocco, Israel and the United States signed a joint declaration in Rabat restoring official contacts and expanding bilateral cooperation.
Sudan signs the Abraham Accords Declaration
Sudan joined the declaration, while full bilateral normalization remained unfinished.
Kazakhstan announces accession
Kazakhstan formally announced accession to the Abraham Accords. Because Kazakhstan and Israel had diplomatic relations since 1992, this represented participation in the framework rather than first-time normalization.
Agreement explorer
Who participated—and in what form?
The framework is not one identical treaty copied across countries. Select a participant to see the legal or diplomatic path.
United Arab Emirates
15 September 2020
Israel and the UAE signed a treaty of peace, diplomatic relations and full normalization. The treaty and annex contemplated cooperation in finance, aviation, trade, health, science, tourism and other fields.
Bahrain
15 September 2020
Israel and Bahrain signed a declaration opening diplomatic relations and committing to peaceful, friendly and cooperative relations.
Morocco
22 December 2020
The United States, Morocco and Israel signed a joint declaration that called for full official contacts, direct flights, reopened liaison offices and cooperation across multiple sectors.
Sudan
2020–2021
Sudan announced normalization with Israel in October 2020 and signed the Abraham Accords Declaration in January 2021. Political upheaval and the subsequent war prevented a fully implemented bilateral normalization process.
Kazakhstan
November 2025
Kazakhstan announced accession to the Abraham Accords while already maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel since April 1992. Its role therefore illustrates how the framework expanded beyond the original first-time normalization cases.
Meaning in practice
What The Abraham Accords can make possible
What normalization can enable
- Diplomatic representation and official channels
- Direct flights, tourism and people-to-people contact
- Trade, investment and business agreements
- Technology, health, water, energy and research cooperation
- Security and regional policy coordination where governments agree
Supporters’ view
How supporters describe The Abraham Accords
Supporters’ case
Supporters describe the Accords as a shift from non-recognition toward practical diplomacy, economic integration and regional cooperation. U.S. officials have highlighted trade, travel, security cooperation and interfaith initiatives as outcomes of normalization.
Research habit: when a source says the Accords “brought peace,” ask what kind of peace or relationship it means—formal recognition, bilateral normalization, regional cooperation, or resolution of an existing armed conflict.
Iraq focus
Where does Iraq fit?
Iraq is not a signatory to the Abraham Accords and does not currently have diplomatic relations with Israel. The subject “Iraq and the Abraham Accords” is therefore a debate about possible future policy, civic dialogue and regional change—not a description of current Iraqi membership.
Iraq enacted Law No. 1 of 2022 criminalizing normalization with Israel. Any discussion of Iraqi participation must distinguish civic advocacy from the present legal position of the Iraqi state and should consult current official Iraqi legal sources because laws and political conditions can change.
Where the framework stands
Think of the Abraham Accords as a framework with different generations of participation
Founding normalization
UAE and Bahrain were the central September 2020 White House signing cases.
2020–2021 follow-ons
Morocco restored and expanded official ties through a joint declaration; Sudan signed the declaration but implementation remained incomplete.
Later accession
Kazakhstan announced accession in 2025 despite already having diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992.
Possible future expansion
Other states can be discussed as possible future participants, but discussion or negotiation is not membership. As of this page’s 29 August 2026 update, Saudi Arabia is not a signatory.
Research habit: when someone says a country “joined the Abraham Accords,” check what actually happened: a normalization treaty, a declaration, restored ties, or accession to a broader framework.
Flashcards
Check your understanding
Open each card, answer in your own words first, then reveal the explanation.
When were the main UAE and Bahrain Abraham Accords agreements signed?
15 September 2020, at the White House in Washington.
Which countries are central to the Abraham Accords framework today?
The original 2020–2021 normalization tracks involved Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Kazakhstan later announced accession in 2025, although it already had relations with Israel.
Is Iraq part of the Abraham Accords?
No. Iraq is not a signatory and currently has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
What makes Kazakhstan’s 2025 accession different from the original normalization cases?
Kazakhstan and Israel had already maintained diplomatic relations since 1992. Its accession expanded participation in the framework rather than creating first-time relations.
Did the Abraham Accords resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict?
No. They changed relations between Israel and participating states but did not themselves produce a final Israeli–Palestinian settlement.
Primary-source desk
Read the agreements, not just summaries
Use primary documents for the wording of treaties and declarations, then compare reporting and analysis for consequences and competing interpretations.
Continue learning
Place the Accords inside the wider history of diplomacy, Iraq–Israel relations and Iraqi Jewish heritage.