The transition of power to democratic President-elect Joe Biden was welcomed throughout the world. Incumbent President Donald Trump's radical policies in dealing with security and political issues raised concerns in the international community and among major world powers in Europe, Latin America and China. Trump’s policies have led the world toward insecurity and chaos. The incumbent US president targeted exactly the political and security principles of the international system such as the United Nations and international monetary organizations. People of the world in particular the Europeans are happy that Trump is going to depart from power and Biden would restore the established world order and also would replace tension with dialogue and interaction.
****Trump's support no more available for Saudis & Zionists
For now, Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime pursue similar positions when it comes to the transfer of power in the White House. Trump's hostile stance toward Iran and the imposition of the harshest sanctions against Tehran have delighted the leaders of the two regimes. The United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal fully satisfied the leaders in Riyadh and Tel Aviv. Saudi Arabia and Israel have been annoyed to see that the nuclear deal dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) helped the Islamic Republic get rid of economic sanctions and succeed in attracting international investment as well as selling oil and industrial products; so, the international agreement provided Tehran with a powerful leverage. Therefore, the Hebrew-Arab leaders opposed the agreement. The continuation of the presence of a president like Trump in the White House, who is against several international contracts and talks, was perfect for the Saudis and the Zionists, and they wished to see Trump in power in order to witness that the US-imposed sanctions system (the maximum pressure) would continue to put more pressures on Iran’s regional and economic activities.
***Saudis worried about likely return of Biden to JCPOA
All of such equations and expectations are shattered because of Biden’s victory in the presidential election and his claim that he would return to the negotiating table and revive the JCPOA. In fact, some conservative Arab states and Israel are suffering from the same anxiety that they experienced in 2015. The behavior of the leaders of certain Arab countries and Israel proves this fact. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan addressed a security meeting in Manama, Bahrain, stressing the need to keep Arab leaders informed of possible JCPOA negotiations. During his interventionist remarks, Farhan called for a change of contents of the international agreement, saying that since the deal did not take into account all the required dimensions, today the world is standing at this point; so, the agreement needs to be renewed.
A review of the remarks made by the Saudi official shows an important point. The most significant concern of Saudi Arabia and its regional supporters is not the lifting of sanctions and the Iranian economy, but the issue of Iran's regional power and its nuclear and missile programs. Especially, Saudi Arabia's debacles in their relations with Yemen, Syria and Qatar have led Riyadh’s leaders to conclude that their failures in the region would be intensified, if the Biden administration returns to the JCPOA. Hence, the Saudis are of the opinion that as a result of the reviving of the agreement, Iran will become more present in the Middle East region and also will find stronger supporters in this region. Acting as an important player in the region is a matter of winning and losing for Saudi Arabia.
***Saudi strategies vis-à-vis Iran
The Saudi regime observes the increase of Iran’s power as the reduction of their influence in the region. The Saudis, hence, are trying to do their utmost to prevent the resuming of talks between the upcoming US administration and Iran. One of the Saudi strategies in dealing with Iran is that they try to expand ties and interaction with the Zionist regime. Saudi Arabia seeks to increase coordination with the Zionist Regime and pave the way for changes in the region that would prevent the upcoming US administration to solve the dispute created by Trump over the JCPOA.
It seems that the Riyadh rulers pursue two strategies, which are based on media hype and the increase of the level of tension in the Middle East to prevent the resumption of the talks over the JCPOA. They would use speeches and propagandas to lead the tension to an atmosphere of distrust. The remarks made by the Saudi foreign minister illustrate such a strategy. In the next phase, the Saudis supported by the Zionists would trigger new crises to divert the potential negotiations on Iran’s nuclear deal, just like what happened in 2015, when Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes on Yemen, in order to derail the JCPOA talks.
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