TEHRAN – In his last speech as the U.S. President, ailing Joe Biden defended his foreign policy legacy by asserting that he has left America and its alliances “stronger” and the adversaries of the United States “weaker”.

The outgoing leader famous for his gaffes, stumbles, and missteps took aim at Iran for a good part of his 30-minute address. 

"Iran's air defenses are in shambles. Their main proxy, Hezbollah, is badly wounded, and as we tested Iran's willingness to revive the nuclear deal, we kept the pressure with sanctions. Now Iran's economy is in desperate straits," he said, adding, “All told, Iran is weaker than it's been in decades.”

Biden’s proclamations were mocked both inside and outside the United States. Observers noted that the president’s "demented" state appeared to persist until his last day in the White House and that his Saturday valedictory speech encapsulated why he and his Vice President Kamala Harris failed to secure a second term in office.

What even is Biden’s foreign policy legacy?

His opponents characterize the 82-year-old’s time as U.S. leader with two major wars and one humiliating end to a two-decade conflict: the war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza, and the embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In Ukraine, Biden's policies have sacrificed multiple generations of Ukrainian men, contributed to the decline of European economies, depleted NATO's weapons stockpiles, and fueled anti-American sentiment within the Russian population, in a bid to weaken Moscow. With anti-Russia sanctions failing to cripple its economy as the West had hoped for, and Ukrainian forces struggling to halt Russian advances despite billions in military aid and the presence of some Western forces, it is believed that Russia will likely emerge victorious. Analysts predict the war in Ukraine will eventually conclude with an agreement that cedes a significant portion of Ukrainian territory to Russia and, at least for the near term, keeps the government in Kyiv in Moscow’s orbit.

In Gaza, Biden funded some of the most harrowing days in human history, which were recorded and circulated online, much to his dismay. He supported Israel in razing Gaza to the ground, bombing hospitals, raping women, burning civilians alive in refugee tents, and allowing newborns to freeze to death. The limited and fleeing victories Biden achieved against Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Hamas came at the cost of at least 50,000 Palestinian lives, and a forever stain on the reputation of the United States – the country that likes to tout itself as the ultimate defender of human rights. 

In Afghanistan, the messy withdrawal of American forces from the country they had occupied for two decades became the laughingstock around the world. The Biden administration, American generals claim, failed to make timely decisions about the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, which created the chaos in which hundreds of Afghan citizens and 13 U.S. soldiers were killed.

Biden and Iran

Biden's Iran policy is particularly self-defeating. Despite initially promising to revive the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) and reduce tensions, his administration only created more challenges with Iran. His continuation of Trump's "maximum pressure" policy—unprecedented sanctions aimed at collapsing Iran's economy—only caused Tehran to expand its nuclear program. 

While Iran has consistently maintained its lack of interest in developing nuclear weapons, Biden’s untrammeled support for Israel and uncompromising position against JCPOA revival has, for the first time since the inception of its nuclear program, led to a large public call within Iran for nuclear weapons development.

The president also failed miserably to contain Iran’s military influence. Iran’s state-of-the-art weapons are now sold across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. The country attacked Israel twice last year and conducted some of the biggest missile and drone operations in history. Furthermore, despite Biden’s claims about Iran’s air defenses being in “shambles”, the country’s latest military drills encompassing the entire nation proved Iran’s defense forces are fully intact. 

Biden can boast about his "successful" foreign policy agenda during his last days in office, but observers look at the reality on the ground to make an assessment.