Biden tries to shepherd Israel and Gulf states closer together

US President Joe Biden’s imminent trip to the Middle East has prompted renewed discussion about the idea of a region-wide defence pact to counter Iran. Such ideas have long been floated for the GCC states alone – and always failed due to a lack of commitment among the six countries to pool their defence resources and command-and-control structures. The talk these days is of an even wider arrangement, involving the likes of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Israel.