The Return of ISIS is a Challenge Biden Must Not Ignore by Con Coughlin  •  February 14th  A recent United Nations Security Council report concluded that ISIS currently controls more than 10,000 fighters, organized in small cells in Syria and Iraq. To date most of the Biden administration's policy announcements have been aimed at reducing tensions with Iran, such as freezing arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states and easing restrictions on the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. By concentrating the new administration's foreign policy resources on reviving the Iran deal and restoring relations with the Palestinian leadership, however, President Biden risks overlooking the extremely significant threat posed by the fanatical supporters of ISIS which, if left unchecked, could once again wreak havoc across the Middle East. The most recent manifestation of the deadly effectiveness of the Islamic State (ISIS) was demonstrated last month when it carried out a double suicide bombing at a Baghdad street market that killed 32 people and wounded 75 others. Pictured: The scene of the double suicide bombing in Baghdad on January 21, 2021. (Photo by Sabah Arar/AFP via Getty Images) As the Biden administration prepares to implement its new policy on the Middle East, it is vital that its preoccupation with reviving the Iran deal does not result in the White House overlooking the considerable threat the Islamist fanatics of ISIS continue to pose to global security. Since taking office, the main priorities of President Joe Biden's newly-appointed foreign policy team, so far as the Middle East is concerned, have been to consider the prospects of reopening negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme, and to establish a dialogue with Palestinian leaders, who spent the past three years boycotting President Donald Trump over his decision to relocate the US Embassy to Jerusalem. By taking this somewhat narrow view of the numerous challenges facing the region, there are mounting concerns that the Biden team will not pay sufficient attention to the mounting threat posed by ISIS terrorists. Continue Reading Article