The Bureau of Middle East Affairs under the US State Department is recruiting a team of specialists whose knowledge will play an "important role in advancing the mission" of the country in the region, the agency said in a statement posted on its official Twitter page.

“The Bureau is delighted to welcome to our team the newly appointed Deputy Assistant Secretaries of State (for the Middle East. -

RT

) Hadi Amr and Daniel Benaim, as well as Senior Adviser Esha Castleberry-Hernandez.

Their expertise in the region and politics will be instrumental in advancing America's mission in the Middle East, ”the statement said.

The Bureau welcomes newly appointed Deputy Assistant Secretaries Hady Amr and Dan Benaim, as well as Senior Advisor Asha Castleberry-Hernandez to our team.

Their regional and policy expertise will play an important role in advancing America's mission in the Middle East.

- US State Dept - Near Eastern Affairs (@StateDept_NEA) January 28, 2021

The website of the US Foreign Ministry also reports that over the past few days, the new US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held telephone talks with the President of Afghanistan, as well as with the Foreign Ministers of Israel, Iraq and Jordan.

The first person Blinken called was Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

As noted in the statement of the State Department, the parties "confirmed the strength of the partnership between the United States and Israel, as well as the fact that the countries will work closely to address the challenges they face."

Then the head of the State Department spoke with the head of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Fuad Hussein.

As the Secretary of State noted after the conversation on his Twitter page, the United States will continue to work with Iraq "to resolve the country's economic problems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fall in oil prices."

Had a productive call with Foreign Minister @ Fuad_Hussein1 to reaffirm our partnership and discuss the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue and elections.

The US will continue to work with Iraq to address their economic challenges in light of COVID-19 and the decline in oil prices

- Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 28, 2021

After that, Blinken had telephone conversations with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Even on the eve of the conversation, the head of the State Department said during a briefing that the United States “needs to understand what is the content of the agreements that have been reached between the United States and the Taliban *.

According to the secretary of state, this is necessary to clarify “what commitments the Taliban have made and what the United States is.

  • US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken

  • Reuters

  • © Carlos Barria

Meanwhile, on January 28, the Pentagon announced that the Taliban * did not fulfill their obligations under an agreement concluded earlier with Washington.

This was announced by the press secretary of the US Defense Department John Kirby.

According to him, we are talking about the fact that the Taliban have not abandoned terrorism and the cessation of "violent attacks on the Afghan national security forces, and thereby on the Afghan people."

Kirby stressed that in such circumstances, "it is very difficult to chart a definite path towards a negotiated settlement."

However, the American side wants to "end this so-called endless war," Kirby said.

The last in a series of telephone conversations was Blinken's conversation with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.

As the US Secretary of State said in a statement, Washington values ​​its long-standing partnership with Amman.

It is also noted that the parties hope for "further deepening of relations in order to achieve common goals."

A pleasure speaking today with Jordanian Foreign Minister @AymanHsafadi.

The US values ​​Jordan's leadership in advancing peace and stability in the region and our longstanding partnership.

We look forward to deepening this relationship to accomplish our mutual goals.

- Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 28, 2021

As Blinken told reporters earlier, the State Department is now conducting a "review of the measures taken by the previous administration at the last stage of its work."

“We want to make sure that we understand in each specific case the grounds for making certain decisions,” the head of the State Department said.

Iran, Syria, Iraq

Recall that during a press conference on January 27, Blinken also outlined the vision of the new US administration on the Iranian issue.

According to him, US President Joe Biden "made it very clear that if Iran returns to compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA in full, the United States will follow his example."

“Then we will have a basis for jointly with our allies and partners to create, as we call it, a more long-term and reliable agreement, as well as the settlement of a number of other problematic issues in our relations with Iran,” the US Secretary of State said.

However, in response to Blinken's words, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif recalled that it was the United States that violated the JCPOA and imposed sanctions restrictions on the Iranian republic.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic accompanied his message with the question: who then should take the first step?

Reality check for @SecBlinken:


The US


-violated JCPOA


-blocked food / medicine to Iranians


-punished adherence to UNSCR 2231


Throughout that sordid mess, Iran


-abided by JCPOA


-only took foreseen remedial measures


Now, who should take 1st step?


Never forget Trump's maximum failure.

- Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 28, 2021

As the head of the Iranian foreign ministry said on the air of Oksana Boyko's program "Opposites" on RT, "the American administration made it clear that it will not be able to live if someone else benefits from it."

“Will they be able to give up this kind of thinking - a relic of the Cold War?

Wait and see.

We are not particularly optimistic about this, but we do not exclude such a possibility, ”said Mohammad Zarif.

At the same time, he stressed that the question is not who is in the White House, the main thing for Tehran is “what the actions say”.

“Take the same JCPOA: not only the signatures put under the agreement are important, it is also important what they result in, what result they lead to,” the Iranian Foreign Minister said.

At the same time, the minister stressed that Iran "has no intention of smearing the US face with mud."

“Iran says rational and logical things.

We have entered into an agreement and remain part of it.

The United States became a party that withdrew from the agreement and put pressure on Iran.

Now, if they begin to fulfill their obligations under the agreement, we have no reason not to return to full-scale fulfillment of theirs, ”Zarif said.

In turn, Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, called on the US presidential administration to hurry back to the JCPOA, since "the window of opportunity is closing."

He stated this yesterday in an interview with USA Today.

According to the permanent representative, it is Washington, not Tehran, who should change its course.

  • US President Joe Biden

  • Reuters

  • © Kevin Lamarque

It is worth noting that, according to Western media reports, the former chief adviser to the Obama administration for the Middle East, Robert Malley, who took part in the negotiations on the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA), may become the new US special envoy for Iran.

As for issues related to US policy in Syria and Iraq, these aspects were touched upon by the Pentagon spokesman during a briefing.

According to him, the goal of the American military in these countries is to continue the fight against IS **.

At the same time, he did not answer directly the question of whether American troops will continue to control part of the oil fields in Syria.

"Back to the traditional vector"

As Pavel Feldman, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDN University, noted in an interview with RT, the fact that, starting on January 20, the State Department has already held talks with four Middle Eastern countries "demonstrates the priority of US foreign policy in the Middle East."

“And the fact that the Secretary of State was the first to call the Israeli Foreign Minister is not surprising, since this country has been positioned as the main American ally, the US stronghold in the Middle East since the administration of George W. Bush,” the expert explained.

Corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergey Sudakov adheres to a similar position.

According to him, the United States has always relied on Israel as the most important partner in the region.

"The new administration of the United States understands that Israel is a key player in the Middle East and that it is ready to pursue, first of all, the interests of America, and not its own," the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

According to Feldman, since the new US authorities have already clearly shown that Israel plays a decisive role for them in this region, therefore, the nuclear deal on the American side will most likely not be restored.

At the same time, Sudakov does not exclude that Washington may return to the JCPOA in the future, however, according to him, it is not yet clear on what terms.

As for Syria, the US policy towards this country was formulated a long time ago and is long-term, Feldman said.

"On the territory of the SAR, Biden will continue to support opposition groups loyal to the United States and control the oil-bearing regions of that part of the country where the richest hydrocarbon deposits are located," he said.

For Iraq, too, everything will remain the same, Sudakov said.

According to the expert, the country is unlikely to gain more independence under Biden.

"Everything will remain as before: the Iraqi republic will remain a politically and economically occupied country, and the American military will continue to be on its territory," the expert believes.

At the same time, with regard to Afghanistan, Feldman predicts that Biden is unlikely to agree to increase the contingent of the American military in this country.

  • Taliban

  • Reuters

“The Americans are clearly not expecting anything good there, human losses and damage to equipment will begin again.

And this will not be a unifying factor at all in the context of the split in the US society and the unstable political situation in the country.

It is possible, at the same time, that the unexpectedly warmer relations with the Taliban could worsen.

However, this will still not lead to the immediate deployment of American troops into Afghanistan, ”the analyst believes.

Feldman summed up that the United States under Biden will eventually "return to its traditional vector of foreign policy in the Middle East."

A similar point of view was expressed by Sudakov.

“Washington's course will be quite similar to that previously pursued by Clinton and Obama.

No matter how Biden demonstrates that his presidency is not the third term of the 44th head of the White House, many of his steps indicate the opposite, "the expert concluded.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02.14.2003.

** "Islamic State" (IS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.