At its core, President Barack Obama's visit to the Middle East is about Iran.
Other issues will be discussed, other topics will occupy some headlines, but it is almost springtime in Iran. Dealing with Tehran's intransigence and efforts to weaponize its nuclear program is the one compelling US foreign policy priority in the region. Everything else is minor by comparison and certainly does not warrant a presidential incursion.
There may be several plausible reasons explaining why Obama chose to visit the region in this particular point in time. The innate instability and current explosiveness of the region (Syria, Egypt), reassuring allies that the US is not withdrawing from the region altogether (Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan), projecting power (Iran). It could be the 2014 midterm congressional elections where no Democrat will then be accused that the president "scandalously hasn't visited Israel yet." There could be a simpler explanation: There is nothing to be gained there, so let's get it over with early in the term, leave John Kerry to manage the mess and pivot and shift US policy to where its real priorities are: east Asia.
But as Iran's elections near (June) and a diplomatic solution to the uranium enrichment impasse seems far, the president is coming to explain US policy and options. Not just to Israel but to all concerned parties.
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