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The Iran factor

May 25, 2021

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel on the first leg of a hastily announced tour of the Middle East. Cynics might wonder why now.

The cease-fire reached last week between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the Gaza Strip, is holding. Blinken will also meet with the rival Palestinian Authority leadership in the West Bank before moving on to Jordan and Egypt, which helped mediate the truce while the U.S. held back.

Announcing his decision to send Blinken to the region, President Joe Biden said his envoy will convey "our ironclad commitment to Israel's security" and continue the administration's efforts to rebuild ties and support for the Palestinians.

But there are likely to be additional reasons for Blinken's diplomatic efforts.

Chief among them is the acceleration in the push for a breakthrough in reconstituting the Iran nuclear accord that the U.S. unilaterally abandoned under Donald Trump.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lobbied hard against the 2015 deal and routinely describes Tehran as Israel's greatest threat. The U.S. is keen to temper his objections this time around.

Then there's China's role in the region. President Xi Jinping spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday to offer his support for Tehran's "reasonable demands" on nuclear matters. They also discussed expanding Iran's oil sales and other exports to China. That's after China and Iran signed a 25-year deal in March with oil at its core.

With China making itself felt in the Middle East, there are plenty of reasons for Blinken to show a U.S. presence. And much to discuss in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo and Amman. — Alan Crawford

Blinken arriving in Israel today. 

Photographer: Alex Brandon/AFP/Getty Images

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Global Headlines

Penalty box | European Union leaders are moving toward imposing new sanctions on Belarus over the forced landing of a Ryanair jet and arrest of a dissident journalist. The European Commission will assess adding Belarusian officials to an existing blacklist, as EU ministers come up with broader measures to target businesses and sectors of the country's economy.

  • Biden has also asked advisers "to develop appropriate options to hold accountable those responsible."
  • Read how Russia is backing Belarus, betting its leader will fall deeper into President Vladimir Putin's embrace.
  • Belarusian critics who fled to neighboring countries now fear nowhere is safe.

Targeting Twitter | Indian police visited Twitter's offices last night after the company decided to label tweets from accounts associated with the ruling party as manipulated media, a source says. Kurt Wagner reports the police action followed complaints by the main opposition Congress party that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party posted forged documents linking it to criticism of his government's handling of the pandemic.


Public support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party has hit an all-time low amid unhappiness with the government's economic management. Even so, opposition parties have so far failed to provide a home for disenchanted Erdogan supporters, who will likely decide the future of Turkey.

Tricky waters | South Korea said it will deploy drones and other advanced technology to crack down on illegal trawling, warning Chinese fishing is increasing security risks near a tense nautical border. Fisheries Minister Moon Seong-hyeok said in an interview that illegal fishing must be "completely eradicated," joining calls elsewhere in Asia to curb Beijing's push into regional waters.

Going it alone | Cuba is taking a high-risk gamble that it can solve a worsening Covid-19 crisis itself, with vaccines made by local labs. The communist nation is inoculating hundreds of thousands with the shots even as they're still being tested, and hasn't reached out to third parties — such as the global Covax program — seeking vaccines being used elsewhere.

Painful aftermath | During the 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas, attacks by Arab and Jewish mobs claimed lives on each side and shook an uneasy coexistence. Gwen Ackerman and Fadwa Hodali explain that now Israel is confronting uncomfortable truths about its treatment of Arab citizens who account for about a fifth of the population.

Israeli security forces and Palestinian Muslim worshippers clash in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound on May 21.

Photographer: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images

What to Watch

  • Erdogan ousted another central bank official, the latest of his sudden decisions this year to restructure the institution's leadership.

  • An attempted coup in the West African nation of Mali threatens to derail presidential elections planned for February that are meant to return the nation to civilian rule.

  • Myanmar's junta detained U.S. journalist Danny Fenster at the airport in Yangon shortly before he was due to board a flight out, intensifying a media crackdown nearly four months after it seized power.

  • EU leaders will discuss today how to distribute the burden of the bloc's plan to stem climate change.

  • China's antitrust watchdog launched a probe of online property giant KE Holdings, widening a crackdown into the tech sector, Reuters reported, citing sources.

And finally ... Biden meets privately today with the family of George Floyd, one year after Floyd's death at the hands of a White Minneapolis police officer, with negotiators working on policing legislation still stuck on how to hold law enforcement officers accountable for excessive use of force. "While I would like to have had something by the anniversary, deadlines are less important than substance," says Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.

A remembrance event for Floyd in Minneapolis on May 23.

Photographer: Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images



 
 

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