US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from his presidential re-election race has drawn relief in some Middle Eastern countries after he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place in the running.
The monumental decision has plunged the Democratic nomination into uncertainty only months before the November election against Donald Trump – a candidate about whom many countries in the Middle East are in two minds.
Both Mr Biden and Mr Trump have left a mixed legacy in the Middle East, with US support for Israel a constant across the two presidencies, despite some differing approaches.
Mr Biden took office trying to reverse some of Mr Trump's most controversial regional policies.
He resumed talks to revive the UN-backed nuclear deal with Iran, which Mr Trump walked away from in 2018. But efforts to revive a deal that involved lifting sanctions in exchange for regular UN inspections of Iranian nuclear sites made no progress.
He also restored hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the main UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, after cuts by Mr Trump. But he would later back a total cut of UNRWA funding, supporting Israeli claims that members of the organisation took part in the October 7 attacks led by Hamas.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump was accused of being too deferential to Israel, opening a US embassy in Jerusalem in 2018 and declaring it to be Israel's capital.
However, Mr Biden has been accused of giving Israel a free pass in its war on Gaza with nearly unlimited military aid despite more than 39,000 deaths in the enclave.
Biden's mixed record
Mr Biden's legacy in the Middle East will be seen as chequered, Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, told The National.
“He will be remembered for the negative bookends of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and October 7 and the war in Gaza, both of which left the US position in the region damaged,” Ms Vakil said.
Some Arab leaders had been “preparing for the return of Mr Trump to the White House. But Mr Biden's resignation requires them to continue to assess the US landscape and maintain ties with Democrats,” she said.
As for Ms Harris, she “has no real track record or relationship in the Middle East, she will continue the US’s steadfast support for Israel but could prove to be more sympathetic on the case of Palestine”.
For many Arab states, Mr Biden was “celebrated by many for having significant Middle East experience and someone who travelled to the region and was very active, even as vice president under the Obama administration", said Renad Mansour, a senior researcher at Chatham House.
Mr Mansour told The National what could have been an enduring legacy has been tarnished by the last nine months of highly destructive war in Gaza.
“Until October 7, his administration was celebrating its success in the region, then the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip began."
Eyeing November US election
For Jordan, a long-time ally of the West, the withdrawal of Mr Biden from the race translates as relief, because it could lessen the chances of a second Trump presidency, Hazem Ayyad, a veteran Jordanian political researcher, told The National.
No official reaction is expected from the Jordanian government.
“We still have four months of campaigning and Trump could still win. But at least now there is optimism in Jordan of a more competitive US presidential race,” Mr Ayyad said.
The last Trump presidency was seen in Amman as “trying to solve Israel’s internal crisis at the expense of Jordan”, Mr Ayyad said, adding the US administration had then regarded Jordan as playing purely a security role.
Improved ties under the Biden administration, however, have restored a traditional “room of manoeuvre” for Jordan in the region, and as an important player in efforts to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict, Mr Ayyad said.
Another source said a second Trump term is regarded in Jordan as a “would-be disaster”.
For Lebanon, Mr Biden’s withdrawal will not result in a “massive shift in politics” but rather a "continuation" of the current US politics in Lebanon, said Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Centre.
"The main change", if Trump wins, Mr Hage Ali said, will be "increased pressure and sanctions on Hezbollah".
"Mr Trump was more insistent on a strong sanctions regime, with voices inside his administration calling for a 'chemotherapy policy' in Lebanon, where the whole state is put under sanctions leading to an impact on Hezbollah," he said.
The only change that might come about with Ms Harris would be the diminished role of US special envoy Amos Hochstein's "personal leverage" on the Lebanese file, a western diplomat told The National.
Mr Hochstein, who is close to Mr Biden, has been a pivotal diplomatic mediator, notably brokering an Israel-Lebanon maritime boundary deal in 2022 after years of negotiations.
He is currently leading de-escalation talks to defuse tensions at the Lebanon-Israel border, which has seen daily shelling since October 8 between Hezbollah and Israel.
Nervous allies
In Turkey, diplomats and experts discussed the need for a reset with Washington, regardless of whomever takes the presidency.
“We have two expectations from the next administration, be it Democrat or Republican,” a Turkish diplomatic official told The National.
“Respect our expectations regarding Türkiye’s fight against terror – stop supporting the PKK and return FETO criminals – and remove the obstacles to co-operation in the field of defence industries.”
Although the US describes Turkey as a key ally – the State Department’s 2022 strategy described it as “a critical partner in achieving stability in the Middle East, bolstering Nato’s influence, and countering Russian and Iranian malign influence” – the two nations have a complex relationship.
A major point of contention in recent years has been Washington’s backing of Kurdish militias in north-eastern Syria. Its leaders have close ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist group that Ankara, the US and some other nations consider a terrorist organisation.
During his previous term in office, Mr Trump threatened a withdrawal of US ground-troop support to the Kurdish armed groups, who would likely collapse without US backing. The Democrats have not publicly weighed an exit of north-east Syria, where the Kurdish fighters guard thousands of ISIS suspects in desert prisons.
But the Biden administration's 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan raised fears among other US allies that anything would be possible.
Turkey, a Nato member which has maintained cordial ties with Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has also long expected the US to finalise delayed weapons sales.
This mainly includes a US government approved $23 billion sale of 40 new F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, plus modernisation kits for 79 jets in its current fleet, after Turkey approved Sweden’s accession to Nato. Turkey had stalled over the agreement because of perceived support of the PKK in the Scandinavian nation.
Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, a former Turkish ambassador to Nato, said "assuming Kamala Harris wins the majority of votes from Democrats in the upcoming nomination process and the Presidential election, the main thrust of the current state of affairs in bilateral ties between Türkiye and the US will by and large remain intact".
A divisive legacy
In North Africa, Mr Biden’s foreign policy has been described as a relatively positive shift from the stagnation and overwhelming tension during the era of his predecessor Mr Trump.
Mr Trump’s push for Morocco’s normalisation with Israel in 2020 in exchange for the US recognition of its territorial claim of the contested Western Sahara region has had a potentially destabilising effect on already-strained relations between Morocco and Algeria.
Algeria, which has been accused of backing the separatist Polisario Front movement in its quest for independence from Morocco, considered the Trump administration’s alignment with Moroccan interests a set back for its bilateral relations with the US.
However, observers noted a visible rapprochement between the two countries after Mr Biden took office, especially after a meeting between Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, in Washington last August.
Despite these positive changes in some North African countries, Mr Biden’s administration didn't succeed in boosting its diplomatic presence in resolving the crisis in Libya, which has seen fragmented international peace processes in the wake of its post-2011 civil war.
Political analyst Othman Ben Sassi told The National that Mr Biden’s foreign policy in Libya has not been any different from his predecessors Mr Trump and Barack Obama.
“Relations have been undergoing a status of total recession without any visible strong presence in important Libyan affairs and strategic matters,” Mr Ben Sassi said.
“The US department of state did not show any differences in policies from one president to the other.”
Khaled Yacoub Oweis reported from Amman, Nada Maucourant Atallah reported from Beirut, Lizzie Porter reported from Istanbul, and Ghaya Ben Mbarek reported from Tunis.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Read more about the coronavirus
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The years Ramadan fell in May
The five pillars of Islam
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
%3Cp%3EAl%20Khayma%0D%3Cbr%3EBait%20Maryam%0D%3Cbr%3EBrasserie%20Boulud%0D%3Cbr%3EFi'lia%0D%3Cbr%3Efolly%0D%3Cbr%3EGoldfish%0D%3Cbr%3EIbn%20AlBahr%0D%3Cbr%3EIndya%20by%20Vineet%0D%3Cbr%3EKinoya%0D%3Cbr%3ENinive%0D%3Cbr%3EOrfali%20Bros%0D%3Cbr%3EReif%20Japanese%20Kushiyaki%0D%3Cbr%3EShabestan%0D%3Cbr%3ETeible%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Spider-Man%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Insomniac%20Games%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%20Sony%20Interactive%20Entertainment%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPlayStation%205%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:
- 1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
- 2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
- 3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
- 4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
- 5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
- 6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
- 7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
- 8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
- 9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
- 10. Richie Porte (Australia / BMC Racing) 4
WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Looming%20global%20slowdown%20and%20recession%20in%20key%20economies%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Russia-Ukraine%20war%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Interest%20rate%20hikes%20and%20the%20rising%20cost%20of%20debt%20servicing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Oil%20price%20volatility%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Persisting%20inflationary%20pressures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Exchange%20rate%20fluctuations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shortage%20of%20labour%2Fskills%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20A%20resurgence%20of%20Covid%3F%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 523hp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh469,000
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More on animal trafficking
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
More coverage from the Future Forum
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
