Biden Under New Pressure to Drop Trumps Iran Sanctions by Martin Jay!
(2021-11-25 at 01:24:18 )

Biden Under New Pressure to Drop Trumps Iran Sanctions by Martin Jay!

The Gulf Arab states are now desperate to get the Iran deal back, fearing that Irans overtures are left unchecked and will only get worse.

Just how "special" is the so-called special relationship between oil-rich Gulf Arab states and Washington,D.C.? One could argue, since Joe Biden became President, that relations have hit an all time low with many looking to broker better relations with Russia, China and even Iran.

Royal elites in the GCC club know that in the event of a new Arab Spring sweeping across the region, that they cannot rely on Biden for any support whatsoever to cling onto power and so have taken an entirely new look at their foes and are asking themselves "are these people really our enemies?"

This partly explains why the shift in policy to welcoming Mr. Assad back into the fold, who will no doubt soon be a fully accepted member of the Arab League. And it also justifies why, since Biden took office, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are more open than ever before towards developing relations with Russia - even as far as, one day, defence procurement. In recent weeks, the lobbying in Washington,D.C. from GCC states to convince President Biden to cut Mr. Assad some slack is part of the trade-off, which no doubt the Syrian leader asked for. And to some extent this is happening.

The big thinking from Gulf Arab states is that the ethos behind the Donald Trump move to pull out of the so-called Iran deal (JCPOA) which would have restricted Tehrans abilities to develop nuclear weapons has not achieved what it set out to do: bring Tehran to its knees begging for a respite to the crippling sanctions.

However, the cruel sanctions which Tehran has had to endure, has made the Gulf Arab leaders themselves beggars and Joe Biden in the awkward position of having to listen to their gripes. Just recently, the GCC made their case to Washington,D.C. to do something about the Iran deal. And do it as soon as possible.

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) on November 18th joined Jordan, Egypt, France, Germany and the United Kingdom in calling for a return to the nuclear deal following a meeting with United States Iran envoy Robert Malley in Saudi Arabia.

According to reports, the 12 countries issued a joint statement noting that "a return to mutual compliance with the [nuclear deal] would benefit the entire Middle East, allow for more regional partnerships and economic exchange, with long-lasting implications for growth and the well-being of all people there, including in Iran".

Several GCC states expressed scepticism when the nuclear deal was first negotiated under former president Barack Obama, with Saudi Arabia calling it "flawed".

Yet, analysts have to wonder now if the Saudis and Emiraties regret the bullish move by Donald Trump and would have the old deal back. The "flaw" now appears that the West has underestimated how Irans more recent activities in the region - from hijacking oil tankers to even attacks on United States forces in Iraq - are paying off, combined with the foot-dragging which we have seen with the Vienna talks.

The GCC call for a return to the deal comes on the eve of indirect talks between the United States and Iran scheduled for November 29.

It also follows a similar joint statement that the United States and its GCC partners issued in Saudi Arabia which called for an "urgent mutual return to full compliance" with the nuclear deal, while condemning a "range of aggressive and dangerous Iranian policies, including the proliferation and direct use of advanced ballistic missiles" and drones.

So the message is clear for President Joe Biden.

The Gulf Arab states are now desperate to get the Iran deal back, fearing that Irans overtures are left unchecked and will only get worse. They are asking, bluntly, for Biden to drop the Trump sanctions, fearing that a conflict is imminent, if we are to believe the chest-beating statements from Anthony Blinken, United States Secretary of State.

The coming weeks now will put the relationship between the GCC and the Biden administration on tenterhooks if Biden does not take the hint and take Obamas notion of "soft diplomacy" to a new low.

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