Employees at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv lay the red carpet on July 12, 2022, ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit.

Employees at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv lay the red carpet on July 12, 2022, ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit. JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

How Biden Can Win His Middle East Trip

The president can advance U.S. interests and regain the region’s trust, if he evolves his messages and policies.

President Joe Biden can demonstrate that “America is back” in the Middle East when he arrives for the first time as president, but only if he brings the right message to achieve his important objectives.

His visit to Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia is an opportunity to show that the U.S. foreign policy aperture is wider than Asia and Europe. It’s a chance to set the stage for achieving his foreign policy goals by reinvigorating engagement on Iran through closer cooperation with the region. And it’s a chance to take steps to restore trust with Gulf nations. 

First, Biden should make clear to Middle Eastern leaders that a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program remains the goal, but it is time to consider a new approach. The P5+1 model is on the verge of failure. The president should propose a new effort that brings in the nations most affected. Middle Eastern nations can bring new economic incentives to a potential deal, which may be especially useful as Iran remains concerned about a future U.S. administration reneging on Washington’s commitments and Western businesses declining to invest in Iran, even if legal barriers are lifted. Regional powers can also make clear actions they will take to deter Iran’s potentially unimpeded nuclear development if talks fail. 

Additionally, the United States should attempt to modernize the diplomatic landscape. The communiques that come out of Biden’s meetings in the region should make clear to Iran that it will find no space to split this determined group. They would also show that this is an area of agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, as the White House wisely continues its work with both nations towards one day expanding the Abraham Accords.

Second, trust between our Gulf partners and the United States has eroded over the past decade. As recently as this past March, UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef al-Otaiba said his country’s bilateral relationship with the United States was undergoing a “stress test.” Three events in recent history have driven increased skepticism of the United States’ commitment to the region: President Barack Obama’s failure to enforce his stated “red line” in Syria when the Assad government used chemical weapons against its own people in 2012; President Donald Trump’s inaction after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels launched a drone attack on one of the world’s most important oil facilities in Saudi Arabia in 2019; and the slow response of the Biden administration after Houthi missiles targeted Abu Dhabi International Airport in January. Houthis have also continued to target oil facilities in Saudi Arabia crucial to international energy supplies. 

Attacks on vital Gulf civil infrastructure cannot be allowed to continue without stronger U.S. responses. Biden should demonstrate this by announcing increased intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance cooperation to monitor Iran’s regional activities, accelerate the provision of additional missile defense capabilities to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and take a more active role in interdicting Iranian weapons shipments to Houthi fighters in Yemen. 

In Yemen, the Biden administration has made great progress in working with Saudi Arabia and the Houthis to negotiate a truce and resume the delivery of humanitarian aid. While it is early, a lasting ceasefire may be in reach for the first time in almost a decade. But to deal with the implications of Houthi aggression outside of Yemen, the United States should shore up our Gulf partners’ defensive capabilities to protect civilians from indiscriminate attacks. And within Yemen, the U.S. should press Saudi Arabia to continue to improve Yemeni civilians' access to humanitarian aid, even if Houthi leaders refuse to do the same. 

And third, to implement these changes the administration should work with the Senate to ensure every U.S. embassy in the region has a confirmed ambassador by year’s end, and designate a point person for the Middle East on the State Department’s 7th Floor. The Biden administration remains short-staffed. Ambassador Barbara Leaf was only confirmed as assistant secretary of state for near east affairs in May. Vacancies remain at U.S. ambassador posts to Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE. Now that Leaf has taken up her post, Secretary of State Tony Blinken should specifically assign one of his senior deputies the task of focusing on the direction and implementation of Middle East policy. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Counselor Derek Chollet are experienced Middle East hands with deep ties to the region. Either of them would be a great pick, and the U.S. should assign one of them to be the main point of contact for regional leaders. Clear and consistent lines of communication will facilitate progress on issues ranging from regional security to human rights to China’s worrisome presence in the Middle East.

By outlining a concrete and cooperative Iran policy with the region, recommitting to the security of our Gulf partners, and fully staffing the U.S. government’s Middle East policy team, Biden can demonstrate to our partners in the region that America is back not only in Asia and Europe, but the Middle East as well. 

Josh Kirshner is a senior vice president at Beacon Global Strategies and served as a State Department official on a variety of Middle East security issues. Ian Byrne is a geopolitical analyst focused on the Middle East and energy who previously worked at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.