Excerpt:

A joint statement signed by the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Morocco called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza Strip. In an admonition to the U.S. and Israel, the statement stated, “The right to self-defence by the United Nations Charter does not justify blatant violations of humanitarian and international law.”

Conceivably, the recent attacks by militant groups in Syria and Iraq pose a headache to Biden in domestic politics.

Reportedly, some two dozen U.S. servicemen have been injured and one military contractor killed so far. There are roughly 2500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria.

That said, while the U.S. still has unrivalled power in the Middle East, its influence has diminished as new realities emerged:

• Israel has grown more powerful militarily and economically vis-a-vis Palestinians, but no longer enjoys regional dominance.

• Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two dominant powers in the Middle East, are increasingly asserting their own interests.

• China, although a relatively new player, is no longer confining itself to economic diplomacy.

• U.S. has lost the capacity to leverage the world oil market, as Russia works closely with Saudi Arabia within the ambit of OPEC+ to calibrate oil production level and prices.

• Consequently, the petrodollar is weakening.

• The Abraham Accords have been shelved practically.

• The Arab-Israeli conflict has assumed new dimensions in the recent years, thanks to the ascendance of the axis of resistance, which require new postures and operational thinking on the part of the U.S.

• Israeli politics moved sharply to the extreme right.

• The global environment is highly complicated; the peace process can no longer be under U.S. mentorship.