The United States of America – which has unfortunately come to be ruled by a man like Joe Biden is going all out of its way to woo Iran in Vienna, which is where talks between the Shi’ite nation and Iran are progressing steadily towards the resuscitation of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also called the Iran Nuclear Deal. Amidst such progress being made with Iran, Biden seems to have suddenly realised that in his bid to win over Tehran, he must try to assuage the fears, concerns and reservations of its Middle East ‘allies’.
But wait – there’s a big catch. In his attempt to trying to supposedly make all Arab nations a part of the Nuclear Deal negotiations, Biden has subtly indicated to them that their concerns are well noted, however, the deal with Iran will solely be to the benefit of Iran and Democrats. Countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordon and others are simply expected to voice their concerns and then shut up, as the Biden administration trashes all their fears and goes ahead with a brazen pro-Iran nuclear deal.
Leading the delegation touring the Middle East to address allies’ concerns regarding the nuclear deal is Senator Chris Coons. Interestingly, Senator Coons is a declared Saudi hawk, and has no love lost for the Islamic kingdom. Since the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi particularly, Senator Chris Coons has let go of no opportunity to unnecessarily mount attacks on Saudi Arabia – very often leading to relations between the U.S. and the kingdom deteriorating. Under the Biden administration and as chairman of a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee, Coons is at the forefront of recalibrating America’s ties with the Saudi kingdom.
Chris Coons told reporters in the UAE’s capital of Abu Dhabi that he hoped to allay the sheikhdom’s “understandable and legitimate concerns” about the return to the landmark deal and to create “broader engagement” with Gulf partners. However, Coons made it clear how the Gulf nations should not dream about gaining anything from the Iran Nuclear Deal – once it is finalised. “I did not in any way mean to suggest that there was some deal in the works where the Emiratis would be securing anything,” he said. The anti-Saudi Senator added, “Vienna is the place where the United States government, the administration, is negotiating.”
In fact, Chris Coons has a history of being blunt in his anti-Gulf activism. Especially on the question of Saudi Arabia and arms sales to Arab countries, Chris Coons has on umpteen occasions done everything in his power to derail ties between them and the United States. Iran, of course, remains a darling of Coons and people like him. After the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, without any evidence at hand, Chris Coons had gone on to say, “We should have a classified briefing and, depending on the facts of this case, we may need to re-assess our relationship with Saudi Arabia, including planned arms sales, our ongoing support for the war in Yemen, and other aspects of our partnership with the Kingdom.”
We should have a classified briefing and, depending on the facts of this case, we may need to re-assess our relationship w/ Saudi Arabia, including planned arms sales, our ongoing support for the war in Yemen, and other aspects of our partnership with the Kingdom.
— Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) October 20, 2018
In August last year, Chris Coons, along with Senators Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Chris Murphy and Bernie Sanders had introduced legislation that would block international sales of American-made drones to countries that are not close US allies, mentioning Saudi Arabia in particular. The legislation proposed to amend the Arms Export Control Act to prohibit the export, transfer or trade of many advanced drones except to NATO members.
In February this year, Senator Chris Coons, while speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash said, “I am optimistic that our role in terms of the war in Yemen, the accountability here for Khashoggi’s murder and other ways in which the U.S.-Saudi relationship may change will in fact deliver the accountability that I called for.” He added, “We are not yet done with recalibrating the relationship between the United States and the Saudi kingdom.”
That such a man has now been tasked by Joe Biden to tell Gulf countries that their opinion of the Iran Nuclear Deal does not matter will ensure that countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE, along with Israel, do all in their power to derail all negotiations taking place between the United States and Iran. Saudi Arabia particularly will now ensure that Iran’s nuclear ambitions never fructify and will go to any length to ensure the same. Essentially, Joe Biden has shot himself in the foot.