Behind the scenes, President Joe Biden’s first visit to the Middle East was a study in contrasts. In Israel, Biden’s decadeslong familiarity with the country and its people was put on display. That gave way to caution and stage management on the other end of the historic flight from Tel Aviv to Jeddah, where the president would meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who U.S. intelligence says was complicit in the grisly assassination of a Saudi journalist living in America.

At stake was the potential for Saudi Arabia to boost its oil output and ease political pressure on Biden and the Democrats heading into the midterm elections amid unease over gas prices and inflation.