Joe Biden clears up Trump's mess in the Middle East - Iran's nuclear weapons increased, and the Palestinians are in even tighter quarters
Iran has come close to nuclear weapons readiness after the United States withdrew from the monitoring project during the Trump era.
US President Joe Biden's visit to Israel began with a fist salute. The use of force and preparation for an attack has been a theme anyway.
The two countries strengthened their alliance by signing a security declaration directed against Iran's nuclear weapons projects.
The document, signed by Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, emphasizes that the United States will never accept Iran's nuclear weapons and that it is ready to protect Israel.
President Biden said the United States could even use armed force to intervene in Iran's nuclear weapons program "if it is a last resort."
"Iran is even closer to nuclear readiness"
However, few things are simple in the Middle East. Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew US support from the international agreement that sought to manage Iran's nuclear energy project in 2015. This suited Israel.
However, the tightening of sanctions against Iran has led, according to the British broadcaster BBC(you switch to another service)to the fact that the country has accelerated its nuclear energy program and is already very close to acquiring a nuclear weapon.
According to the Reuters news agency, President Biden also said in an interview on Israeli television that Iran is closer to nuclear weapons than ever before.
He called the US withdrawal from Iran deals a "huge mistake".
Biden corrects Trump's tracks
Compensation for the damage caused by Biden's predecessor Trump's administration also comes up in other questions.
During the Trump era, the US embassy was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, marking the recognition of the disputed city as Israel's capital.
Biden now met face-to-face with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Palestinians have been angered by the United States' reluctance to intervene in the construction of Israeli settlements.
They have also called for the return of the US consulate to East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of the divided city.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian(you switch to another service), this is not visible, despite the US promise.
"Mr. President, this is apartheid"
After arriving in Israel, Biden reminded me of the two-state model as a solution to the region's problems. However, according to the BBC, he added that he knows that getting to such a point is not even close.
Frustrated Palestinians attached cloths to the walls in the Palestinian territories with a message to the American guest: "Mr. President, this is apartheid" - even the light board of the traffic divider declared in Bethlehem.
Biden stayed in the Palestinian territory for a few hours. However, the meeting with the relatives of the murdered Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh did not fit into his schedule.
The central goal of President Biden's Middle East tour is to strengthen relations between Israel and the Arab countries. He continues what he calls a "peace trip" on Friday to Saudi Arabia.
The first direct flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia
There, the presidential plane Air Force One will make the first direct flight from Tel Aviv. This has symbolic significance, as conservative Saudi Arabia has not even officially recognized Israel.
Saudi Arabia is the central destination of Biden's tour, as there he is expected to persuade the oil-producing countries in the region to increase their production. This could curb the rise in fuel prices, which is also bothering Americans.
In Saudi Arabia, however, the president's visit may be overshadowed by the fate of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was kidnapped and killed by the country's authorities.
The murder, which became public, caused Biden, who is running his election campaign, to characterize Saudi Arabia as a " stretcher state". Now he is traveling there as the President of the United States.
