Donald Trump presides as Israel, 2 Arab states sign historic pacts

Declaring the dawn of a new Middle East, President Donald Trump on Tuesday presided over the signing of historic diplomatic pacts between Israel and two Gulf Arab nations that he hopes will lead to a new order in the Mideast and cast him as a peacemaker at the height of his reelection campaign.

Hundreds of people amassed on the sun-washed South Lawn to witness the signing of agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The bilateral agreements formalize the normalization of the Jewish state's already thawing relations with the two Arab nations in line with their common opposition to Iran and its aggression in the region.

"We're here this afternoon to change the course of history, Trump said from a balcony overlooking the South Lawn. After decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new Middle East.