Sixty years ago, US President John F. Kennedy solidified his foreign policy towards Egypt with the fervent belief that providing the rebellious country with positive incentives could cause it to adopt a more moderate and restrained conduct and denounce its military aspirations in the region.
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History has proved the strategy of placating radicals in the Middle East to be faulty, yet it seems that Kennedy's legacy lives on to this day. It can be observed in President Joe Biden's policy towards Iran.
One thing is apparent: the new administration is working tirelessly to return to the 2015 nuclear deal struck with the ayatollas as soon as possible.
The new president sees the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as the only way to deal with the Iranian challenge effectively. His decisions are based on the international consensus, which will impact all future decisions regarding the regime in Tehran.
The administration believes that rejoining the nuclear deal would create leverage for future expansion of the agreement. It also aims to address future issues of Iranian subversion throughout the region and the regime's missile program and attempts to correct the many flaws of the JCPOA.
History has proved this to be a pipe dream. It is doubtful that Washington's return to the agreement will bring about any change in the Iranian regime's conduct. On the contrary: abandoning the existing deterrent created by President Donald Trump significantly outweighs the theoretical benefits of returning to the negotiating table.
Let's also not forget that Biden's eagerness to return to the deal signals that he considers Saudi Arabia, not Iran, to be the bad apple of the Middle East.
Biden's decision to freeze the weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a central element to their decision to normalize relations with Israel, has already led to a weakening of the Abraham Accords.
As a result, Washington severely punished Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for participating in the war against the Houthis, Iran's proxy in Yemen, while lavishing praise on Iran.
America's abandoning of its Saudi ally will only be viewed by Iran as a weakness and will, in turn, solidify its regional aspirations.
Needless to say, one of the most complex challenges for Biden is to find the balance between the value of human rights and the cold and sober consideration of US interests.
However, the fact that the administration punished Saudi Arabia for harming the civilians in Yemen and the heinous murder of journalist and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi, but continued to work tirelessly to negotiate with representatives of the oppressive Iranian regime, points to a double standard.
The world we live in is far from perfect. Every decision must be considered within the framework of traditional US interests. The new president of the American people demonstrates a purist and distorted attitude towards an environment saturated with instability and violence, and is abandoning its allies for the sake of renewing the Iranian illusion.
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