The United States is adamant to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, President Joe Biden implied in an opinion piece he penned for The Washington Post over the weekend.
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Titled Why I'm going to Saudi Arabia, the piece outlines Biden's reasons and vision for his upcoming trip to the Middle East. The American president will tour the region between July 13 and 16. He is expected to land in Israel, visit the Palestinian Authority and take off to Saudi Arabia on Friday, on what will be the first direct flight from the Jewish state to the Gulf kingdom.
"Next week, I'll travel to the Middle East to start a new and more promising chapter of America's engagement there. This trip comes at a vital time for the region, and it will advance important American interests," Biden wrote.
He noted that "a more secure and integrated Middle East benefits Americans in many ways," stressing "a region that's coming together through diplomacy and cooperation – rather than coming apart through conflict – is less likely to give rise to violent extremism that threatens our homeland or new wars that could place new burdens on US military forces."
Biden pledged to "pursue diplomacy intensely" in his meeting in the region, which are expected to include sit-downs with President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
"The Middle East I'll be visiting is more stable and secure than the one my administration inherited 18 months ago," he wrote, hinting at the historic Abraham Accords and the prospects of budding normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
He pointed the finger at the Trump administration, which unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, as effectively pushing the Islamic republic to accelerate its nuclear program.
To curb Tehran's ambitions, he explained, the US "reunited with allies and partners in Europe and around the world to reverse our isolation; now it is Iran that is isolated until it returns to the nuclear deal my predecessor abandoned with no plan for what might replace it."
The Vienna talks, however, have repeatedly stalled and have seen Iran flout what remains of the original deal, as well as clash with the International Atomic Energy Agency – to the point of restricting its inspectors' access to high-profile sites.
Still, the American president vowed to revive the deal, despite its growlingly obvious flaws, writing that his administration "will continue to increase diplomatic and economic pressure until Iran is ready to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, as I remain prepared to do."
Touching on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and US aid to the PA, Biden said that the White House has "worked with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to maintain the peace without permitting terrorists to rearm.
"We also rebuilt US ties with the Palestinians. Working with Congress, my administration restored approximately $500 million in support for Palestinians, while also passing the largest support package for Israel – over $4 billion – in history."
He also noted that on Friday, Lapid and Abbas spoke for the first time in five years.
"On Friday, I will also be the first president to fly from Israel to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia," Biden wrote of the impending historic flight, explaining, that it will be "a small symbol of the budding relations and steps toward normalization between Israel and the Arab world, which my administration is working to deepen and expand."
"In Jiddah, leaders from across the region will gather, pointing to the possibility of a more stable and integrated Middle East, with the United States playing a vital leadership role," he wrote.
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