Biden to visit Saudi Arabia

President Joe Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia will include meetings with King Salman, as well as the country’s de facto ruler and crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. U.S. intelligence officials have said the prince was responsible for the 2018 killing of U.S. journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. During his campaign, Biden criticized the Trump administration’s friendlier policy toward the kingdom, which he called a pariah. The Saudi Embassy in the U.S. said King Salman invited Biden in hopes of improving the countries’ relationship. Biden will visit Israel and Palestine before arriving in Saudi Arabia.

Why now? The Biden administration does not want to alienate the oil-rich Saudis during a fuel shortage and tensions over the Iran nuclear deal. In May, Saudi Arabia agreed to extend a UN-mediated cease-fire in its seven-year proxy war with Yemen and to ramp up oil production by 648,000 barrels per day. The kingdom has been accused of using mass arrests, executions, and other violence to squelch dissent. Human rights advocates want the White House to take a stronger stance against human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.

Dig Deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report in World Tour on the world’s religious persecution hot spots.