Iran and Palestine, two big challenges for the international order
Iran is one of the countries that generates most fear in the different foreign policies of Western countries, and with good reason. The stockpiling of arms that the country led by Hasan Rohaní has carried out and continues to carry out is putting the international community on alert. The Iranian state's support for the Houthi militias in the Yemen war is just one example of the danger it poses to the world. A threat that "we are not taking seriously enough", according to Suzanne Maloney, Vice President and Director of Brookings Foreign Policy, which has organised a week of lectures under the title "The Middle East and the New US Administration" to address in depth all the diplomatic issues that unite them.
In the face of the Iranian threat, the United States is seeking to iron out its position after four years of the Trump administration. One of the speakers at the first of four days of this Brookings Foreign Policy event, Will Hurd, a former member of the US House of Representatives for the Republican Party, stressed that "the United States is a world power because of its values and its leadership, not only because of its economic power", and therefore has a responsibility towards other countries. A similar position to that of the former Deputy National Security Advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan, Meghan O'Sullivan, who, while taking into account the importance of her country and its mediating role in hostile territory, argues that "it is not in its power to end the crisis in Yemen", in reference to the conflict that unites them with Iran.
The Yemeni conflict is one of the most tense on the international scene, due, among other things, to the different countries behind the continuous attacks by both sides. One of the most important figures is Saudi Arabia, with whom the United States wants to engage in renewed relations after the departure from the White House of Donald Trump, whom the Saudis have been quick to miss. "They were comfortable with Trump, but they knew it was an unusual situation," O'Sullivan said of relations between Washington and Riyadh. However, the change of president opens up a new panorama that, although very different from that of the past four years, is expected to be just as fruitful, if not more so.
There are many reasons for the Biden administration to reach out to Saudi Arabia. Support for Yemen's internationally recognised government - headed by Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi - is one of the main ones, but not the only one. The same former deputy national security adviser emphasised that "the Middle East is one of the key pillars in competing with Russia and China to be the world's greatest power". The race to be the leader of the international order has been going on for some time and, unsurprisingly, the power of a Middle East that is booming economically and technologically - as can be seen in the huge investments being made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in recent months - is key to ensuring leadership in the near future of international politics.
One of the keys to that rapprochement must be, at least according to Will Hurd, the power of diplomats. Some decisions are made from the White House, but this should not be the case. Giving greater freedom and responsibility to ambassadors and other diplomatic corps is one of the factors that could contribute to the necessary rapprochement that the United States needs to bring about. Moreover, the one-time Republican Party representative warns that the Middle East has already warned of the possibility of moving closer to China in the "China or us" game. One more reason why the country presided over by Joe Biden "must have an economic plan that is prepared to compete with China".
If there is one thing that is clear, it is that the US must count on the invaluable support of its biggest ally in the Middle East, Israel. Less than a month before facing what will be its fourth election in two years, two candidates to wrest the prime minister's post from Benjamin Netanyahu, Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition, and Gideon Saar, candidate for the New Hope party, took part in the first day of presentations organised by Brookings Foreign Policy. If there is one thing both candidates agree on, it is the vital importance of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the risk posed by Iran "to the whole world, not just Israel", said Lapid. The New Hope candidate added that "the Middle East is more united than ever against the Iranian threat", which is why "they must share efforts with the United States".
Both the opposition leader and Saar wanted to dwell on another scenario that is a real headache for any foreign policy, the Palestinian question. Although Yair Lapid wanted to make it clear that "they are not a real democracy", he assures that "one of the fundamental objectives is for them to become one". And that is why "they must sit down and negotiate with Palestine". Bringing together positions in the historic conflict between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours is at the top of the list of priorities for both candidates, as they ask that it should also be for their US ally.
However, the first day of talks, which included all of these protagonists, wanted to delve a little deeper into the Palestinian question and was pleased to add the presence of the former Prime Minister of Palestine, Salam Fayyad, who was Prime Minister of Palestine in 2013. "Biden's goal must be to restore the trust that Trump swept away," the former prime minister stated emphatically. Laying the foundations for a new relationship between Palestine and the United States is possible, but he also stresses that the real front they must prioritise is Israel, with the country led by Joe Biden as a mediator between the two peoples.