Former Vice President Joe Biden officially became the Democratic Party’s nominee for president on Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention. The longtime senator and former chair of the Foreign Relations Committee has a long record on Middle East policy, as well as relationships with many of the leaders in the region.

Foreign policy has not been the biggest issue during this presidential campaign. The election cycle is largely a referendum on Donald Trump, and the convention has focused on the president’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy, social justice, and protests against racism and police brutality — some of which have turned violent.

As vice president, Biden is associated with the policies of former President Barack Obama's administration, including the 2015 Iran deal, the US withdrawal of forces from Iraq in 2011 and the formation of a global coalition against the Islamic State (IS) in 2014. He might have cooler relations than Trump does with Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but perhaps better dialogue with Iran.

On the Iran deal, Biden supports conditionally rejoining the agreement the Obama administration negotiated, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which removed sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for its compliance on its nuclear program. Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018. Biden thinks the deal successfully prevented Iran from building a nuclear weapon, and he would become party to it again if Iran can prove it is abiding by it.