New President Joe Biden's foreign policy doctrine marks a revolution in the new administration's goals and priorities • Suspending aid to the Gulf allies is a clear signal to Tehran of its intention to convert the deterrent whip
US President Joe Biden.
Signals to Tehran about a reconciled brother-in-law
Photography:
AFP
Watching new President Joe Biden's speech on Thursday, in which he officially launched his foreign policy doctrine, marks a real revolution in terms of the new administration's goals and priorities, which could radiate to the regional peace process, as well as to Israel directly.
First, with regard to the Gulf arena, but also with all the other complexes in which Biden addressed his speech, his ambition to disengage, immediately and sweepingly, from Donald Trump's global and regional policies stood out.
For example, the 45th president based his arena conduct on the ongoing supply of advanced weapons systems to Saudi Arabia, designed to provide it with a solid safety net and defenses and deterrence against the Iranian challenge, while allowing it to exert continuous military pressure on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Adjacent to Tehran's table and removed in spite of it.
In addition, Riyadh's arms supply policy is intended to be an incentive for the Saudi regime to provide support for the regional peace process, in the hope that later on it will give its blessing and patronage to the Abrahamic Agreements as a full partner.
The same is said in relation to the United Arab Emirates, which recently crossed the Rubicon, and signed a peace agreement on Israel.
For, as on the Saudi level, in the emirate arena as well, the Trump administration has played the role of the "rewarding mediator."
And here, on both fronts together, the Biden administration - this is clearly reflected in the speech - decided to make a sudden U-turn and immediately freeze all arms (offensive) deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, including the F-35 deal, which was a key pillar in its decision Of the Union to return from the frost towards the "warm peace" with Israel.
This, ostensibly, with the stated aim of stopping the flow of military and logistical assistance to the Yemeni-fighting coalition led by Saudi Arabia, whose actions have caused severe and ongoing damage to the civilian population.
However, beneath this moral envelope, which seemingly faithfully reflects Biden's desire to anchor his foreign policy on a pure and refined normative value base, it is not difficult to identify the set of clear strategic considerations, centered on the desire to convey a message of intent to Iran.
In other words, suspending aid to U.S. traditional allies in the Gulf struggling with the Iranian challenge is a clear signal to Tehran of the administration's intent to convert the whip of deterrence, enforcement and aid in the war against Iran's protégé in Yemen, by much more conciliatory means and tools. "Soft Power Diplomacy."
These freezing measures towards traditional partnerships are therefore supposed to build trust in Tehran, thus paving the way for the resumption of negotiations on the nuclear issue, and for the United States to rejoin the "Vienna Agreement".
Against this background, the question arises as to the implications of this policy for the future conduct of all U.S. regional allies. Although it is still too early to assess conclusively what will happen in such a dynamic and complex environment, there is reason to believe the US effort to thaw immediate snowmelting with the Tehran regime will hurt It is linked to the foundation of the Abrahamic Agreements, while at the same time slowing down the process of expanding and gliding into other spaces, for when the American patron turns his back on the central axis player throughout the process (Saudi Arabia), and at the same time implicitly sends reconciled messages to Riyadh's sworn enemy. The certainty and skepticism regarding the future place and role of the American superpower in the entire sector is inevitable and must cause concern in Jerusalem as well.
This is also in light of the double standard, which the president's conduct reveals already in the first days of his government.
For, while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are immediately punished for their activities on the Yemen front, Biden's speech lacks a clear and loud condemnation of Iran's conduct, both in relation to its accelerated efforts at the nuclear level and its ongoing subversion throughout the region.
Days will tell, if we are indeed, at least in the Iranian context, at the beginning of a journey in the time tunnel back to the Barack Obama era in the White House, in which Aidan served as his deputy for eight years.