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Biden Is Delivering the Middle East to China
Michael Doran
March 15, 2023

Can Washington recognize a Sputnik moment when it sees one? The reconciliation that Chinese leader Xi Jinping brokered last week between Iran, America’s adversary, and Saudi Arabia, its most influential Arab ally, toppled the United States from its throne as the unrivalled strategic actor in the Middle East. This coup should banish, once and for all, any doubts that Xi aspires to pose a direct challenge to American military primacy in the Middle East. For those who have been watching closely, Xi has been signaling this aspiration for years. READ MORE

JNS China brokers an Iran-Saudi rapprochement In a move on Friday that came as a surprise to some, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced renewed ties brokered by China, including the reopening of their respective embassies within two months. It came rather suddenly, even though the two nations have communicated officially for two years now and seen an abatement of cross-border attacks Early reports on social media interpreted the news as China’s rise and Washington’s decline on the global diplomatic stage. 

Seen on Twitter: That China was able to step in and broker a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, is perhaps the biggest Biden Admin foreign policy failure yet.

JINSA Fellows React to Iran-Saudi Deal Gabriel Noronha: “We’ve gone from four US-led peace deals in the Middle East to China taking over diplomacy to help Iran,” according to JINSA Gemunder Center Fellow Gabriel Noronha, “this is a damning indictment of Biden’s Middle East policy: we abandoned the region and China swooped right in.” Naronha also argues, “because the United States refused to stand up against Iran, Saudi Arabia felt compelled to repair ties. And so goes Saudi, so goes the region. That means Iran can devote more of its energy to attacking Israel, Europe, and the United States and our interests. And they will.”