(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, starting off his tour of the Middle East. Biden will visit Saudi Arabia Friday in an attempt to strengthen relations between the country, the U.S. and Israel as they face a common threat in Iran.

Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute Jamil Jaffer joined “Morning in America” to discuss Biden’s visit and the backlash this decision has accrued.

While the economy, record inflation rates and oil will be discussed in the upcoming meetings, the main focus of Biden’s visit with Middle Eastern leaders will be on Iran’s nuclear program and their potential alliance with Russia.

“We’ve seen Iran engage in all sorts of bad behavior, this new effort with the Russians is no surprise, frankly. And it’s worth noting that part of the reason we’re facing these oil pressures are because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Jaffer said.

But the backlash comes as Biden now has to work on building a relationship with Saudi Arabia after he had campaigned he would make the country a pariah.

“But the president, perhaps, should have been more wise on the campaign trail, and recognized the important aspect of our relationship with Saudi Arabia … now given economic situations, he’s gonna have to go, you know, somewhat eat crow and that is unfortunate, but it does appear where we are today,” Jaffer said.

You can watch the full interview in the player above.