JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Bahrain and Oman could be the next Gulf countries to follow the United Arab Emirates in formalising ties with Israel, Israel’s intelligence minister said on Sunday.

Eli Cohen

Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen told Army Radio:

In the wake of this agreement [with the UAE] will come additional agreements, both with more Gulf countries and with Muslim countries in Africa.

[…]

I think that Bahrain and Oman are definitely on the agenda. In addition, in my assessment, there is a chance that already in the coming year there will be a peace deal with additional countries in Africa, chief among them, Sudan.

Both Bahrain and Oman praised the UAE-Israel accord, although neither have commented on their own prospects for normalised relations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with Omani and Sudanese leaders in the past two years.

A senior U.S. official said on Friday that the White House has been in touch with “numerous” countries in the region, trying to see if more agreements would materialise. The official declined to name the countries but said they were Arab and Muslim nations in the Middle East and Africa.