Biden Set to ‘Put a Little More Distance’ in Relations With Israel, Focus on Iran – Reports

The approach of the new US administration will reportedly be different from what former president Donald Trump had pursued – namely, embracing ties with Saudi Arabia and Israel.

US priorities in the Middle East are set to change under US President Joe Biden, shifting slightly from Israel towards Iran, The Times of Israel reported.

According to Aaron David Miller, an-ex State Department Middle East analyst, “with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, relationships that Trump basically decided to rehabilitate in the wake of Obama, you have a Biden administration that is prepared to put a little more distance, although not in symmetrical proportion.”

Miller also said that Biden could be waiting until the results of the election in Israel – the fourth one in two years – in which there is a possibility that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be voted out.

“This is a signal that it’s not business as usual with the way Trump dealt with the Israelis,” Miller said.

Speaking on Iran, Miller said that Washington could be signaling it was not “running after Tehran.” Biden previously vowed to return to the United States to the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. Trump abandoned the JCPOA in 2018, reinstating harsh sanctions on Tehran as part of a “maximum pressure campaign.”

Zarif has also ruled out any revisions to the original deal – as Biden suggested expanding the agreement – and insisted that Washington remove the sanctions first.

In response to the killing of nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran has passed a law to increase its uranium enrichment to 20 percent and stop UN inspections of its nuclear sites. In January, Tehran began working on the production of uranium metal.

DAY 54 – In this March 14, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington

As a follow-up, the White House reportedly paused proposed arms sales worth $760 million to Saudi Arabia, which had included 3,000 GBU-39 Stormbreaker “small diameter bombs”.

The Trump administration had long prepared its reconciliation plan for the Middle East, which Trump touted as having led to several Arab nations agreeing to normalize ties with Israel, including the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The rapprochement was met with harsh criticism in Palestine.

Back in 2016, in what was an unusual rebuke of the US’ long-term ally in the Middle East, Biden shared his “overwhelming frustration” with the Israeli government, saying that Washington should “push [Tel Aviv] as hard as we can” toward a two-state solution.

Sourse: sputniknews.com