Biden's Middle East trip aims to shore up a relatively calm moment in the region
President Biden will be in the Middle East this week, where he'll meet with 11 regional leaders. It's the first trip of his presidency to the region — prompted in part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the rising oil prices it's caused.
No major strategic deals appear to be in the works but the White House says the president hopes to build on connections between the countries and support what it says is a more stable region than it was a couple of years ago.
The Middle East is relatively calm — but just barely. The seven-year war in Yemen — from violence and deprivation — has seen three months of cease-fire between Iran-backed and Saudi-led forces. Although there's frequent violence between Israelis and Palestinians, it's nothing like. Iran-backed attacks in Iraq — and U.S. retaliation — have stayed at low levels.
