US Capitol riot stains Trump's Middle East legacy on Iran, Abraham Accords

Published date07 January 2021
Date07 January 2021
AuthorTOVAH LAZAROFF
Publication titleJerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)
At issue in particular for Israel is Iran and the Abraham Accords. For the Israeli Right, there is the expanded palette of Trump's policies in support of West Bank settlements, his recognition of Golan Heights sovereignty, and his relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem

Given US President-elect Joe Biden's opposition to Trump's diplomatic agenda, Trump's administration should have spent these last critical days shoring up its policies in advance of the Biden presidency on January 20.

Speculation had been high that perhaps an additional Israeli normalization deal could be signed in this period, or further moves taken to weaken Tehran's nuclear weapons ambitions. This had even included fearful speculation of a possible joint Israeli-US military activity against Iran.

The five hours in which world attention was riveted on a violent assault on US democracy on Wednesday robbed Trump of any moral leadership to act diplomatically. It may even have cost him his constitutional ability to do so, should Article 25 in the US Constitution be invoked to remove him from office.

At stake, however, is not just an additional 13 days to cement policies believed to be in Israel's existential and/or right-wing interest.

Wednesday's events casts doubt on Trump's four years of diplomacy in the Middle East, including his rejection of the 2015 Iran deal, and his creation of Israeli-Arab normalization deals through the rubric of the Abraham Accords. In the past few months, deals for full diplomatic relations were signed with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. Ties were reestablished with Morocco and a full normalization deal is pending.

Trump's failure to swiftly condemn Wednesday's violence and/or show an understanding of the danger it posed to US democracy and the country's standing as the leader of the free world, however, now calls into question his ability to accurately assess larger diplomatic issues, including ones relevant to Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's anticipated difficult task to sway the Biden administration to retain Trump's policies is now likely akin to mission impossible.

Biden has already said he would keep the US Embassy in Jerusalem. But he has spoken of wanting to return to the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and he is opposed to West Bank settlements.

A number of former Israeli diplomats said that Wednesday's actions cast a stain on those policies, but it was unclear the extent to which it eliminated them.

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