The U.S. support to Israel
Many critics say that Biden needs to face reality and that his policies of appeasing Iran while criticizing Netanyahu and Israel have created massive tensions in the Middle East and escalated into conflicts. Recently, Iran launched 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles against Israel, with limited damage, and Israel retaliated, but there was no further escalation.
The progressive democratic party despises Netanyahu, the right-wing Israeli prime minster hardliner, and is complaining about the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip. The party has also facilitated billions to Iran in hopes of incentivizing better behavior but will little success. The Biden administration does not enforce its oil sanctions on Iran, allowing Iranian crude to export to China and other Asian destinations.
Since Biden took office, Iran has steadily increased oil exports, its most lucrative revenue source. Last month, Iran boosted oil production to an estimated five-year high of 3.4 million barrels per day. Another source of revenue for Iran is liquified petroleum gas, which Tehran has started to export in record quantities, making it the top seller in the region.
Just last month, Biden renewed a sanctions waiver giving Iran access to upwards of $10 billion to be used. It is unclear why the Biden administration thinks that appeasing Iran will bring peace to the Middle East. This theory has been in place since the Obama administration, still a strong force in the current regime. After Iran’s recent attack on Israel, Biden can still get serious about penalizing Iran, and he can dramatically increase sanctions on the shippers, insurers, middlemen, and tankers involved in the Iranian petroleum trade. Another tool would be to sanction Chinese and Asian financial institutions that facilitate Iran’s illicit trade.
Biden is primarily focused on the election in November and not losing too many Arab-American votes, a traditionally stable democratic voting bloc. That is the main recent for Biden’s public wrath at Israel and his strong criticism of Netanyahu. Biden is pressuring Israel to halt its campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, threatening a cutoff of U.S. support, doing nothing to stop Canada from halting arms sales and emboldening democrats in congress to call for conditioning U.S. aid. It is not difficult to see why Iran would think that a strike on Israel would have no consequences from the U.S. They were right.
It is unclear why the Biden administration will feel close to Iran, but the actions are similar to Obama’s, and it is an ongoing appeasement policy. Regarding Israel, the Biden administration’s strong words of condemnations of Israel, the democrats’ hate for Netanyahu and the concerns about the Palestinian people mean nothing. When it comes to Israel, the Jewish lobby is too strong and the military-industrial complex too powerful. No president can change that.
Consequently, the U.S. will continue to support Israel no matter what. Despite Biden’s complains, congress just agreed to send another $26 billion to Israel. Israel can continue their attacks in the Gaza Strip, where more than 34,000 people have been killed so far, they can keep implementing their apartheid-based constitution, they can increase their violent occupation of the West Bank by sending in more settlers and the list can go on.
The U.S. will keep sending money and support. Biden is doing what he can to vocalize criticism of Israel as the Arab-American swing state voters are important, but his words are truly just words. They will have no impact on U.S. military and financial aid.