Biden's Tour of Middle East: Vain Attempt to Revive Arab-Israeli Alliance against Iran

Biden’s imminent tour to Israel, the occupied West Bank, and Saudi Arabia will be his first official visit to the Middle East since he stepped into the Oval Office. The trip appears to herald a dramatic shift in US policies in the Middle East, as Biden is attempting to reverse the US withdrawal strategy from the oil-rich Middle East, which was initiated during the Obama administration’s “American Pivot to Asia” and continued under Trump’s tenure.

Many political pundits believe that Obama and his successor made an egregious miscalculation when they shifted US hegemonic outlook to Far East Asia, purportedly to confront Beijing’s growing military strength.

In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has overwhelmingly deemed an unprecedented global tectonic development, the course of US foreign policy priorities has profoundly altered. Following the tragic crisis in Ukraine, the White House started to mull over reinvigorating the long-term alliance between the United States and European nations and reinforcing NATO.

The raging war in Ukraine, the resulting energy dilemma in Europe, and the mounting pressure from the traditional US allies made it imperative for Biden to stop the decline of US political clout in the Middle East and precipitate the formation of a ramshackle coalition to contain Iran’s dominating influence.

To put it in other words, Biden’s trip to the Middle East might allow Americans to concentrate on a wide gamut of controversial topics in the Middle East, in particular, the Iranian issue and deep schisms between Washington’s Arab allies.

Israeli media hope that one of the agendas of Biden’s impending visit will be the reaffirmation of US security commitments to pro-US Middle Eastern regimes in the face of a fabricated Iranian threat.

The White House, too, expects that Biden’s visit will facilitate the formation of a US-led bloc in the Middle East by advancing the normalization process between Israel and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council [PGCC] countries, especially Saudi Arabia, and will mark a U-turn in Washington’s relations with reactionary Arab regimes, such as Jordan and Egypt.

On the other hand, to win the next presidential election and showcase a successful foreign policy accomplishment, Biden places exceptional importance on forging an anti-Iran alliance between Riyadh and Tel Aviv in his attempts.

Even though new strategic dynamics are emerging in West Asia, American strategists are oblivious to the fact that the Iranians will not remain passive.

By increasing its ties with China, an international economic powerhouse, and Russia, a military superpower, Tehran has adopted substantial measures to foil malicious plots concocted by the US and Israel. According to a report published by the “Washington Free Beacon,” Iran, Russia, and China intend to undertake trilateral naval drills in August, dubbed “Sniper Frontier” in the Caribbean Sea, hosted by Venezuela, which has long been considered the United States’ backyard.

It is evident that the mentioned naval maneuvers harbinger the formation of a tripartite alliance against the United States, which can effectively thwart any US-Zionist-Arab designs detrimental to Iran’s national and regional interests.

According to commentators, Moscow and its allies, Iran and China, are on the threshold of a tremendous exhibition of their alliance by flexing their military strength in the vicinity of the American coast, thus rendering the United States’ belligerent strategy in the Middle East completely futile.

Moreover, Iran has recently decided to reinforce its geostrategic position by applying for membership in the “BRICS,” which encompasses over half of the world’s population.

In conclusion, the Biden administration should not adopt Trump’s catastrophic approach vis-� -vis the Middle East, which has already proven to be an utter fiasco, as such irrational efforts would only drive the crisis-stricken region towards the verge of more instability and turmoil by inciting confrontation against Iran.

It remains to be seen whether pro-Israel lobbying groups in Washington, DC, including AIPAC, can convince Biden to emulate Trump’s fatal follies.

By Arwin Ghaemian is a Ph.D. student at Tehran University, specializing in Iranian Qajar history. He resided in Arabic countries for nearly two decades. His expertise is Iran’s modern history and the Middle East’s socio-economic and security issues.