Paraskinio – issue 571, p. 13, Mar. 25, 2017
One of the most complex issues that every US government is concerned with is the Middle East. With the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House, the American leadership began to talk about a radical change in dealing with Middle East issues as opposed to Obama’s ruling, especially in its relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The major rapprochement of the US with Iran was made, though not as it should have been, after the nuclear agreement with the previous administration. This agreement gave the Iranians the opportunity to regain confidence in themselves and to increase their interventions in the Middle East countries, especially Syria, Yemen and Iraq, with the substantial occupation of their capitals, as many Iranian officials admitted. This move was the cause of the spread of terrorism and civil war in the region and it goes without saying that it would not be done without the green light from the US government.
On the other hand, the Obama administration has drastically moved away from the traditional US strategic allies in the region, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel, a move that complicated the situation and created a variety of risks. In spite of its attempt to show rivalry with Russia, it has in fact given it the green light to increase its influence in the region of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, thus making it impossible to resolve the Syrian and Ukrainian crisis without its participation.
In the context of the new US government’s internal and external policy review, Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the successor to the throne of Saudi Arabia, visited Washington following a personal invitation by the new American president. The visit lasted five days during which the Saudi Prince met with Donald Trump, the defense secretary and other US officials. The main topics of the agenda were US-Saudi Arab relations, on-going wars in Syria and Yemen, Iran’s intervention in the Gulf countries and the war on terror.
The visit resulted in a promise made by Trump and his administration to rebuild US relations with the Gulf countries. President Trump assured Prince Salman of the total rejection of Iranian intervention, stressing that the Obama era has expired. The Saudi Prince stressed King’s support in any US action to combat terrorism and in particular the elimination of ISIS. During the visit, financial agreements worth $ 200 billion were signed, which observers interpreted as evidence of the Kingdom’s gratitude for the expected US government’s actions against Iran and its allies in the Middle East.
It is important for the countries of Europe and especially Greece to realize that the new US government will not allow economic co-operation with Iran. It is in the interest of these countries to choose the right side, as Iran will find itself in a bad military position in the near future.