Major developments are taking place in the Middle East vis-à-vis Iran after Joe Biden has defeated Donald J. Trump. It is imperative for Pakistan to keep its eyes open to these developments as they have a direct bearing on us. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s desire to bring about a settlement between Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has long proved a pipedream. Second, after he election of Biden, the US is going to be more extrovert which means Pakistan and Afghanistan are going to be centre of a lot of activity again. Biden has set off ripples indicating that he will revive the nuclear deal with Iran under which Iran will seize its efforts to acquire nukes in return for concessions in the sanctions it has long been facing. He thinks that revival of that deal is imperative to stop the race for nuclearization of the region. The deal was coming into effect when the outgoing US President Trump unilaterally pulled out of it. The Gulf states, led by the Kingdom, never wanted this deal and were happy with Trump for doing it. However, after the change in the Office, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud Saturday warned that Biden must take Gulf states into confidence before mounting on any move to reset the balance. He was speaking on the sidelines of Manama Dialogue in Bahrain. He said not only the Kingdom but its friends should also be “fully consulted” by Biden administration to revive the deal. Now there is a big question mark here? The Kingdom does not enjoy the centre stage now as it did in 2014-15 when this deal was made. After that, Yemen crisis cursed long swathes of its border, triggering one of the worst humanitarian crises. The allied forces created a lot of mess and there was internal strife among the allies. Qatar had been treated as a pariah by its neighbor because it was not in favor of unilateral strikes. The split is showing. The question is: is the Kingdom not asking for more than its fair share in the bargain? Moreover, Iran needs to slough off its image as a spoiled child. Al-Jazeera has reported that it is dispatching the biggest flotilla of oil vessels Venezuela. It is reported that the ships have turned off their tracking system. Both Venezuela and Iran have long been target of the US and EU sanctions. Both the nations should work out a well talked-through way out of the crises they are in instead of behaving like this. *