Biden's Middle East Balancing Act: Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia
Trump's so-called success in the region puts Biden in a bind.
Iran’s existential threat.
Source: Iranian Army via AFP/Getty Images
I was in Saudi Arabia in September 2019 when drone strikes, almost certainly instigated by Iran, hit major Saudi oil facilities. From the balcony of my hotel, I could see the smoke rising in the distance. I talked it over with the U.S. ambassador at the time, retired General John Abizaid, and we agreed that the Saudis were facing an existential threat from Tehran.
Nothing has changed: I recently spoke with retired General John Allen — a former commander of the U.S. Central Command and U.S. envoy to the coalition against the so-called Islamic State — who tells me, “Iran remains the top threat in the region.”
Iran has no interest in arriving at an accommodation with the Saudis and other Gulf Arab states. Last month’s missile attacks on the Kingdom’s capital of Riyadh by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen underscored that conclusion. Fortunately, they were thwarted by Saudi defenses.