Despite broad agreement on the nature of Washington's foreign positions and goals, the vision of Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden for the Middle East region remains an exception in most of them.

They differ radically regarding the Iranian and Palestinian issues, the future of the US military presence in the region, and human rights issues, and they agree only on the issue of Arab-Israeli normalization and the need for continued arms sales to the countries of the region.

Iran and the Gulf

Trump followed a hard-line policy towards Iran and withdrew from the nuclear agreement in mid-2018, then imposed unprecedented sanctions on Tehran, and demanded the rest of the member states to withdraw from the nuclear agreement signed with it.

Trump has pledged to reach a new agreement with Iran within a month if he is re-elected, whereby stricter restrictions will be placed on Tehran's ballistic missile program and its role in regional conflicts by the proxy is reduced.

Related to this is the restructuring of Washington's security relations with the Gulf states, the increase of the American presence there and the doubling of the volume of US arms exports to the countries of the region.

In turn, Biden pledged, if he wins, to adopt a three-dimensional policy that includes a commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and the second dimension provides for a clear path to return to diplomacy and negotiation so that he works with his country's allies to strengthen and expand the terms of the nuclear agreement.

The third dimension of Biden’s vision for the future of relations with Iran is to continue to act against its "destabilizing activities that threaten US friends and partners in the region."

Biden pledged to adopt a three-dimensional policy that includes a commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon (European News Agency)

America's wars

During his previous presidential campaign in 2016, Trump called for an end to the "endless absurd wars" in the Middle East.

Trump's policies regarding resorting to the military option were based on his desire to end the presence of his forces linked to wars that Washington could not resolve with clear victories, whether in Afghanistan or Iraq and even Syria.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration brokered a peace deal with the Taliban that would herald a permanent ceasefire and prompt the withdrawal of foreign forces by May 2021.

For his part, Biden has sufficient experience - whether as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or as US Vice President - in reshaping his country's policy on the military presence in the region.

It is widely expected that Biden will move towards limiting or ending the military effort in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria altogether, and proposing a perception of leaving counterterrorism forces in some countries, including Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Biden enjoys flexible attitudes toward US wars in the region. During his membership in the Senate, he supported the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

On the other hand, Biden pressed - as vice president - to reduce troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has since described the invasion of Iraq as a mistake.

Biden pledged to return most of the US forces from Afghanistan to their homes during his first term as president.

The UAE and Bahrain reached a peace and normalization agreement with Israel (Reuters)

The two-state solution

The file of normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab countries - which has so far included the countries of the Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan - is one of the most important points of agreement between the two candidates.

Trump followed a different approach and made a radical break with years of Washington’s traditional policy towards the issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and put forward his perception of what was known as the "Deal of the Century" that supported all the Israeli allegations, which led to a complete Palestinian rejection of it.

Instead of trying to advance mediation efforts between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, the Trump administration has placed great importance on strengthening ties between Israel and the Arab Gulf states.

This policy - which relied on regional concerns about Iran's policies in the region - resulted in the UAE and Bahrain reaching a peace agreement and normalizing relations with Israel, before Sudan joined them, and the Trump administration is pressuring to conclude other such deals.

Biden’s advisors stated that he would restore the governing principles that guided US diplomacy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including support for the two-state solution, and opposition to Israel's intention to annex land and build settlements.

Biden said he would not back down from Trump's decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem or recognize it as the capital of Israel.

While maintaining strong support for Israel, Biden will also seek to rebuild relations with the Palestinians.

This will likely include reopening the US consulate in East Jerusalem, re-providing aid to the Palestinians, as well as reopening the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington.

human rights

Trump ignored human rights files in his country's dealings with its allies, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and traditional condemnation statements did not come out following the arrests of a political nature in Cairo or Riyadh.

Observers expect Biden to re-take into account the issues of freedoms, human rights and democracy, and to consider them among the priorities of his administration as it was rooted and natural in making its policies towards the Middle East.