Biden Should Call Off Iran Nuclear Talks
The president can use this week’s Mideast trip to signal that the US won’t tolerate Tehran’s menacing activities.
Time to push back.
Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg
American presidential trips to the Middle East are always freighted with anticipation and apprehension, but few have been burdened with the geopolitical baggage attached to Joe Biden’s visit — to Jerusalem today and Jeddah later in the week. Unusually, the guest will be as anxious about the outcome as his hosts.
Biden, having come to office with ideas about deprioritizing the Middle East in US foreign policy, now wants to reassert what he calls America’s “vital leadership role” in the region’s affairs. But Israeli and Arab leaders need proof that Biden is serious about taking on that role. The princes of the Gulf states are especially skeptical, sensing that the president will say anything to get them to pump more oil.