A senior US official stated on Wednesday that a team of American envoys will soon head to the Middle East for talks with key US allies, amid rising concerns in the region about President Joe Biden's efforts to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal. The official said, "A high-level delegation will travel... next week to discuss a number of important issues related to US national security and ongoing efforts to reduce tensions in the Middle East."
An informed source mentioned that the delegation will be led by Brett McGurk, the National Security Council’s Middle East policy coordinator, and Derek Chollet, a senior official at the State Department. While the exact itinerary of the trip is still unclear, there are initial plans for the delegation to visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan. Bloomberg was the first to report the news of the trip.
Officials are also expected to discuss the Biden administration’s decision to move forward with a $23 billion arms sale to the UAE, which includes 50 F-35 fighter jets and 18 military drones. US lawmakers have criticized the UAE for its involvement in the Yemen war, a conflict considered one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world. They are also concerned that the arms deals might violate US guarantees for Israel's military superiority in the region.
Many of the US allies in the region are worried about Biden's pursuit to return to the Iran nuclear deal, fearing that the resumption of the deal's implementation could ultimately allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons, putting them at risk of Iranian intimidation or military threats. Iran, along with Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia, began a third round of talks in Vienna this week aimed at agreeing on steps to be taken if the deal, from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018, is revived.
