Fred Fleitz, former chief of staff of the National Security Council in the Trump administration, told Newsmax on Friday night that Saudi Arabia reestablishing relations with Iran in a deal brokered by China is one of the worst setbacks in diplomacy in American history and proves how inept the Biden administration's foreign policy has become.
"This is really a stunning development at a time when Iran is racing to a nuclear weapon, is enriching uranium near-weapons grade, is giving weapons to Russia that is using to kill Ukrainians," Fleitz, senior fellow at America First Policy Institute, told "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
Biden began his administration with a hostile attitude toward Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Tensions escalated before the November midterm elections, when the Saudi-backed OPEC+ oil cartel announced cuts in production. Biden said Saudi Arabia would suffer "consequences" for the move, but nothing ever materialized. Relations were also strained because Biden began his term trying restart the nuclear deal with Iran that former President Donald Trump abandoned.
Under the deal, Iran and Saudi Arabia will reopen their embassies. They also agreed not to interfere in each other's internal affairs, and they will discuss enhancing bilateral relations. By brokering the deal, China has proved to be a more reliable partner in Middle East affairs among Arab nations than the U.S., according to Fleitz.
"This is one of the worst setbacks for U.S. diplomacy in American history," Fleitz said, "and it is a direct response of the incredibly weak and incompetent foreign policies of Joe Biden and the global perception that he's not even capable of being commander in chief.
"The Saudis are thinking, 'America is not reliable, so we're going to have to make some other arrangements.'"
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