NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE A s president, Joe Biden has, with some exceptions (aiding Ukraine, for instance), largely pressed forward with a protracted retreat from America’s traditional role on the world stage. We’re beginning to see the rotten fruits of this fateful posture.

Last Friday, Saudi and Iranian officials announced the restoration of diplomatic relations per an agreement negotiated by Beijing, mending the yearslong rift between the two regional powers. This deal is a major setback for our foreign-policy objectives. It is also a setback for Israel, our closest ally in the region, which will have to contend with the fact that its long-sought-after partner and its biggest foe now have closer ties. It is also a reminder that the policy of disengagement from the region, and the wider world, of the last three U.S. presidential administrations has been an abject failure.

There are several ways in which this agreement is bad for our national interests. For starters, it marks one of the most significant Chinese encroachments to date upon the traditional American sphere of influence. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the dominant player in the Middle East. The Obama-era policy of disengagement changed this. Upon assuming the role of commander in chief, the 44th president wanted America out of the region. He disingenuously portrayed a pivot to Asia to counter the rise of China as a zero-sum endeavor: a false choice between staying active in the Middle East or in the Indo-Pacific. Sadly, the two successive presidential administrations have maintained this position, enticing our enemies to fill the void. Now, with Russia preoccupied with its disastrous invasion of Ukraine, China, which imports much of its energy supply from the Persian Gulf, is stepping into our shoes. Last week’s Chinese-brokered deal is the natural consequence of Washington’s abandonment of its prerogatives and provides fodder for the narrative that American primacy on the world stage is waning.

This agreement is also the culmination of a foolhardy effort to stick it to the Saudis. The kingdom had traditionally been among our closest friends in the Middle East. But that all began to change when the Obama administration, in a rare and unfortunate diversion from its policy of Middle East disengagement, snubbed the Saudis by pursuing the Iran nuclear agreement. Otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), this “Iran deal” eased sanctions on the Islamic Republic at the Saudis’ expense. The Trump administration wisely extricated us from the ill-conceived accord. But the final straw for the Saudis came when Biden said he held Saudi crown prince and de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, indelibly marring the relationship between Washington and Riyadh. MBS is no choir boy, but you have to pick your poison in this part of the world. There are no immaculate allies in the region, and Biden’s moralizing helped push the Saudis into the arms of our adversaries. To Elliott Abrams, deputy national-security adviser in the Trump administration, the Saudi–Iran breakthrough “shows how little confidence the Saudis have in the United States; they are hedging their bets,” though he considers it “less a measure of growing Chinese influence and more a gauge of our own diminished role.”

As disastrous as this development may be for American interests, perhaps it can be a teachable moment. There are two lessons that can be learned here. One: Much as it would be nice if the U.S. didn’t have to worry about the Middle East, some degree of concern for the region is a necessity if we are to support allies and restrain foes. The alternative to U.S. influence in the region is not that no other outside force will attempt to steer things in its favor; it’s that outside forces hostile to our interests will. Two: If the U.S. is to be engaged in the Middle East, it must approach this task realistically. That does not require intervention in every crisis that arises, but we must actively engage in areas where our interests are implicated. Deciding when and where to intervene, and with whom to ally, is not easy, but lawmakers must not shirk their responsibility to safeguard national security out of a desire to appease the base voters in their party.

The Chinese-backed Saudi–Iranian rapprochement is troublesome news. Let’s hope it forces politicians on both sides of the aisle — and especially President Biden — to come to terms with some hard truths about America’s role in the world.