Leaders of the United Arab Emirates have been preparing for a possible Joe Biden administration for months — even speaking to Democratic leaders before signing a historic peace deal with Israel, according to a new report.
The Middle Eastern kingdom reportedly made sure to “get a blessing” from the former veep before signing the Abraham Accords at the White House in September, a deal which normalized relations with Israel, Axios reported Wednesday.
It’s unclear if the Trump administration or the State Department was aware of the UAE’s backchannelling with the Biden campaign, but according to Axios, Emirati officials hoped “the goodwill they won with that deal will help them navigate Biden world, particularly given their concerns about a possible revival of the Iran nuclear deal.”
Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed has congratulated Biden on his win, as has Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Abraham Accords were a major achievement of President Trump’s administration, normalizing ties between Israel and the Arab Gulf states of Bahrain and the UAE. Last month, Sudan followed suit in another US-brokered deal.
Trump, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize following the accord, promised that additional countries were eager to join the agreement and declared that the Middle East would eventually be “one unified family.”
But the outcome of the presidential election has thrown that progress into doubt, especially as Biden has expressed willingness to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal, upsetting the regional balance of power arranged by the Trump administration.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also reached out, Axios noted, perhaps hoping that Biden would be less pro-Israel than his predecessor.
Iran did not congratulate Biden, despite his history of dealing with the regime with President Obama. However, foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a threat to other Middle East leaders about the realignment pushed by Trump to isolate the Shi’a theocracy.
“Trump’s gone in 70 days,” Zarif tweeted. “But we’ll remain here forever. Betting on outsiders to provide security is never a good gamble.”
