Biden seeks Mideast relations reset
Challenges loom in region questioning future of US ties
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will try to reaffirm and recalibrate U.S. relationships in the Middle East during his first trip to the region since taking office, but it won’t be easy in a corner of the world that’s asking fresh questions about the future of American influence.
Biden departed late Tuesday for Israel, where chaotic politics have left a caretaker government in charge until elections later this year, limiting the opportunity for durable dealmaking.
Analysts say it’s unlikely that Biden will have much better luck in the West Bank when he visits with Palestinian leaders who have become increasingly unpopular among their own people.
The trip could become more fraught from there. Biden’s next stop will be Saudi Arabia, an autocracy with a legacy of human rights abuses but also vast reserves of oil the president wants to see pumped more quickly to alleviate high gas prices caused, in part, by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Looming over Biden’s travels will be his administration’s struggle to rejuvenate the Iran nuclear deal that was reached by President Barack Obama in 2015 and abandoned by President Donald Trump in 2018. Negotiations stalled last month, and Iran is believed to be closer than ever to having the ability to build a nuclear weapon.
“He’s going to face a region that’s long on problems with very few solutions,” said Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Biden has been more
focused on Europe, which is experiencing its worst armed conflict since World War II, and Asia, where he’s been trying to reorient U.S. foreign policy to confront China’s rising power.
Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, said the U.S. needs to remain “intensively engaged” in the Middle East because the region is “deeply interwoven with the rest of the world.”
“If we act now to create a peaceful and stable region, it will pay dividends for the American national interests and for the American people for years to come,” Sullivan said.
Biden also is expected to visit an Israeli missile defense installation and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. In addition, he’s slated to receive Israel’s
Presidential Medal of Honor.
The U.S. and Israel plan to issue a joint statement dubbed the Jerusalem Declaration on Thursday that is meant to serve as a road map for the countries’ relationship in the coming years, according to senior Israeli officials who briefed reporters Tuesday.
The declaration would include a tough stance on Iran’s nuclear program, committing both countries to use “all elements of their national power against the Iranian nuclear threat,” according to one of the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Biden travels to Saudi Arabia at the end of the week, when he’ll attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which brings together the region’s Arab
leaders.
Sullivan said the president will make a “major statement” on his vision for the Middle East region.
But the most closely watched encounter will be his first meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s crown prince and presumed heir to the throne held by King Salman.
Biden has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia, even saying during the presidential campaign that it should be treated like a “pariah” for human rights abuses. His administration released a declassified intelligence report saying the crown prince likely approved the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based writer who was critical of the regime.
However, the shifting politics of energy have led
Biden to change course, especially as American drivers face high gas costs. The global price spike could also make it more difficult for Biden to convince allies to keep pressuring Russia with sanctions as the war in Ukraine grinds on.
Even if Biden’s visit goes smoothly, there may not be any immediate relief because oil production targets are governed by an agreement reached among the members of OPEC+, a cartel that includes Saudi Arabia and Russia.
And while the current agreement expires in September, concern about a potential worldwide recession could make oil producers wary about pumping more.
Critics say that some of Biden’s rhetoric around the Saudi leg of the trip, particularly playing down his expected meeting with the crown prince, could complicate efforts to reset relations.
The president has stressed that the primary purpose of his visit to Jeddah is to take part in the gathering of the Gulf council countries.
One factor in seeking a detente in the Saudi relationship is growing concern in the administration that the Saudis could move closer to China and Russia amid strain with the United States.
Another significant stumbling block has been the lack of a new nuclear agreement with Iran. The last round of negotiations in Doha, Qatar ended without success.
The Saudis, as well as the Israelis, have been frustrated that the White House has not abandoned efforts to revive the deal with Tehran.