US President Donald Trump is back in the spotlight as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize – this time with rare endorsements from two nations that don’t often find themselves aligned – Israel and Pakistan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally announced his nomination of Trump during their meeting at the White House on July 7, their first since the joint Israeli-American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure. This follows Pakistan’s earlier nomination of Trump last month, citing his intervention during India–Pakistan tensions in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
Trump, who has long aspired to win the Nobel Peace Prize and has been nominated multiple times before, now finds himself with two formal endorsements, though whether that boosts his actual chances remains unclear due to the Nobel Committee's secretive process.
Israel, Pakistan nominate Trump for Nobel
During their meeting in the Blue Room of the White House, Netanyahu handed Trump a letter confirming he had formally recommended the US president to the Nobel committee.
“He’s forging peace as we speak, one country and one region after the other," Netanyahu said.
“I want to express the appreciation and admiration not only of all Israelis, but of the Jewish people,” Netanyahu added. “You deserve it.”
To which Trump replied: “Thank you very much. This I didn’t know. Wow. Thank you very much. Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful. Thank you very much, Bibi.”
Earlier, in June, Pakistan’s foreign ministry submitted its own recommendation letter, hailing Trump’s actions during a critical phase of South Asian escalation. Islamabad credited him for what it called “decisive diplomatic intervention” during the May military flare-up between India and Pakistan.
“At a moment of heightened regional turbulence, President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi,” said the Pakistani government in a statement.
“This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue.”
While the Trump administration has previously claimed to have halted a potential war between India and Pakistan, New Delhi has consistently maintained that the ceasefire understanding in place today was the result of direct military-level talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries, without third-party involvement.
How the Nobel Peace Prize nomination works
Contrary to popular belief, anyone cannot nominate someone for a Nobel Peace Prize, and nominations do not imply endorsement by the Nobel Committee.
Who can nominate?
As per the Nobel Prize website and the New York Times, the following individuals and groups are authorised to nominate candidates:
- Heads of state and national lawmakers
- Members of the International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration
- University professors in fields like history, philosophy, law, theology, and peace studies
- Directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy think tanks
- Former Nobel Peace Prize laureates
- Current or former members and advisers of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
Select members of international organisations such as the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the Institut de Droit International.
Self-nominations are not allowed. The Norwegian Nobel Committee says thousands of eligible nominators worldwide ensure “a great variety of candidates.”
Importantly, the Committee also emphasises that the use of a nomination to claim endorsement or association with the Nobel Peace Prize is prohibited, and names of nominees are kept confidential for 50 years.
How is the winner chosen?
Here’s how the Nobel Peace Prize process unfolds:
Nomination deadline: Nominations must be submitted by January 31 each year. Any entry after that is rolled over to the following year.
Initial review: The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee, supported by advisers and researchers, examines all valid nominations and prepares a shortlist of candidates.
Evaluation phase: From mid-February to September, the Committee evaluates the shortlisted candidates in detail. This includes commissioning expert reports on each nominee.
Final selection: The Committee convenes multiple times before voting to select a winner by simple majority. The decision is kept secret until the official announcement in October.
The process is highly confidential, so whether Israel’s or Pakistan’s nomination will influence the final decision is entirely unknown. In fact, the Committee will not even confirm if Trump is on the shortlist.
Why Trump’s candidacy is unusual, and politically charged
While it’s not uncommon for US presidents to be nominated for the Peace Prize, what makes this instance notable is the dual backing by both Israel and Pakistan, two nations with dramatically different regional agendas.
In the past, Trump has claimed he deserved the award for his administration’s efforts in the Abraham Accords, which normalised diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab states. However, he has never made it past the nomination stage.
With both Netanyahu and Pakistan invoking his diplomatic interventions, from West Asia peace talks to South Asia military de-escalation, the narrative around Trump as a “peacemaker” is once again being shaped. But critics argue that much of the actual diplomacy and conflict management happened independently of the US in both regions.
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