During the 2020 election campaign, the Joe Biden campaign made much of the stark differences between its candidate and Donald Trump. When Biden won, many Americans breathed a sigh of relief and believed America could return to “normal” after four disastrous years of the Trump presidency. While true in terms of domestic affairs, little changed regarding US Middle East policy.

Biden’s attention was focused elsewhere. China was seen as the United States’ greatest rival, and Asia was the president’s highest priority. He anticipated following Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia.” That’s why during his term, Biden never made a clean break with Trump’s Middle East policy. The status quo — what Daniel Moynihan once called “benign neglect” — seemed a reasonable approach.

For example, Biden never returned to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Trump and the Republicans, allied with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hammered Democrats for years over the deal negotiated by Obama. One of Trump’s major campaign promises was to withdraw from it, which he did in 2018. When Biden came into office, he wasn’t willing to expend the political capital it would take to come to a new agreement.