It’s not surprising that Putin is nervous. Biden’s optimistic remarks about his trip sent a very strong message: The US is deeply committed to the future of the Middle East. We have not disengaged. We are not weak. We are as strong as we have ever been and know we must be.
Besides his push for an Iranian axis, Putin turned to the weapon he employs most frequently — propaganda. Maria Zakharova, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, attacked Biden’s request for increased oil production, saying it betrayed promises Biden made to US voters on renewable energy and climate change. But she went much further than this. She made the direst threat imaginable: that the US and its allies are pushing the world toward nuclear war.
Putin’s allies in Iran also chimed in to blast a potential Israel-Arab security alliance. The deputy head of Iran’s terrorist Revolutionary Guards, Yadollah Yavani, threatened a “decisive response” to America, the “Zionist regime” and Saudi Arabia.
Moreover, just as Biden was set to take off for Jerusalem, we learned that Iran will supply Russia with hundreds of drones and train Russian forces in how to use them. Previously, such drones had only been in the hands of Hezbollah and Hamas. Now, they are undoubtedly headed for Ukraine. Apparently, Iranian drones are always used against democracies and their innocent citizens.
Russia is lining up behind Iran diplomatically as well. Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian recently visited Russia, and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said he is committed to seeing the removal of all sanctions on Tehran and the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Sides are forming up. The potential flash points are multiplying. And let’s not forget that, behind the scenes, China is expanding its presence in the Middle East and Africa. There is an abyss of possible new developments, and none of them are peaceful.
Fiamma Nirenstein was a member of the Italian Parliament (2008-13), where she served as vice president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Chamber of Deputies. She served in the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and established and chaired the Committee for the Inquiry into Anti-Semitism. A founding member of the international Friends of Israel Initiative, she has written 13 books, including Israel Is Us (2009). Currently, she is a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
