The US must understand the Middle East to deter Iran, senior journalist says

The Biden administration's inability to understand Iran's tactics and limit its influence in the region has led to a loss of power for the West, Jonathan Hessen, editor-in-chief of TV7 Israel News and a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, told Sarah Ben-Nun on The Jerusalem Post Podcast.

"The utopian aspirations of the Biden administration and their team are very beautiful, if they would have come into fruition," Hessen said. "However, the Middle East does not stand by for anyone.  These cultures are so heavily invested in their heritage, in their way of life, in their understanding of whatever modus operandi they're pursuing, bringing about this approach signified weakness in their eyes, in the eyes of the Iranians, as well as in the eyes of partners and allies in the region."

Hessen explained that the Biden administration's approach to the Middle East was in many ways a revocation of the Trump administration's approach. 

This, in his view, led to the US distancing itself from the Abraham Accords as a strategy to counter Iran, but also to shift towards a "a policy of deconfliction, of seeking, to a certain degree, to appease the Iranians in an attempt to bring them into the fold." 

One major example he cited was when US President Joe Biden announced that he would stop supporting Saudi Arabia's offense against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, and the removal of the Houthis from the US foreign terrorist organizations list. 

"This marked... a signal to the Iranians that no longer will US partners and allies seek to establish friction with Tehran's proxies in the region, and therefore the negotiations ensued and developed on reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the 2015 nuclear deal," Hessen noted.

Hessen further expressed that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will continue Biden's approach to the Middle East should she be elected into office - something he said would be more in line with the views of the United Nations and different NGOs.

The Trump administration approach, by contrast, was to force the Iranians to a point of concession by bleeding them dry financially as well as isolating them politically. This was in an effort to counter Iran's own approach, which, according to Hessen, centers on deepening ties with its neighboring countries and removing US influence from the region, as to Tehran, the US "is also the only power capable, in their mind, of eradicating this regime and bringing about a regime change that will once again bring Iran into the Western fold."

Countering Iran's network of proxies

This, Hessen noted, was part of the goal of Iran's network of proxies throughout the Middle East, to oust US hegemony and to deepen Tehran's footprint in neighboring countries. But the Abraham Accords were an effective counter. 

"Wherever Israel is, the Iranians are diminished," Hessen said. "So wherever Israel is, the American influence also increases. And by doing so, basically the United States said, 'Look, I'm going to integrate Israel into the region. I'm going to stand by you. We're going to link all of you together... from a security architecture perspective [and] also investments, and other aspects that will be very beneficial.' 

"There were a lot of slogans, but what it basically came to in context was that it aimed to confront Iran's malign behavior via its proxies to diminish their capacity in a combined effort."

He further noted that even now, the Biden administration has been changing course on some of their prior policies, going from ending support for the Saudis to now starting to sell Riyadh weapons to help them confront the Houthis.

According to Hessen, overcoming the cultural disconnect between the West and the Middle East is what is essential for restoring US influence in the region. 

The US "should revitalize its strategic approach to the Middle East, understanding the core principles that are laid out throughout history towards the cultural understanding," Hessen said. 

"There is a cultural disconnect here, and that is the fundamental issue."