Did Saudi Arabia put pressure on these Islamic countries?
Earlier this month, OPEC Plus, an organization of oil producing countries led by Saudi Arabia, decided to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day. Due to this decision of Saudi Arabia, the price of oil has increased internationally.
America’s Biden administration tried a lot, but Saudi Arabia did not listen. There are by-elections in the US in November and before that this decision of Saudi was more irritating.
America said that this decision of Saudi Arabia will help Russia. Russia is also a member country of OPEC Plus.
US Senate leader Chuck Schumer said that the people of America will remember what Saudi Arabia has done for a long time.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia said that this is not its political but economic decision. Saudi Arabia said that this decision has been taken with the consent of OPEC Plus countries.
America accuses Saudi
On October 14, John Kirby, spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, said that OPEC Plus members had disagreed more than once about cutting oil production, but Saudi Arabia forced them. However, he did not name any country.
According to the Wall Street Journal report, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain and even the UAE did not agree with the decision to cut oil production. These countries feared that the oil cut would increase the fear of recession and this would reduce demand.
A close to Saudi Arabia’s royal family told The Intercept, “People in America think the Crown Prince is favoring Putin, but I believe Mohammed bin Salman is more Putin than Putin.”
“Saudi Arabia is well aware that the rising cost of gasoline at the pump in the US since 1973 is a complex political issue,” Brookings Institute senior fellow Bruce Riedl told The Intercept. They want to help the Republican Party by raising the price of oil. MBS wants the Republican Party to be strong in Congress and this will be an important step for Trump’s return in 2024.
saudi arabia oil game
Saudi Arabia did the same thing in 1973 during the Israel-Arab War. Saudi had banned oil trade against countries that supported Israel.
After this, even after Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, Saudi Arabia banned oil. The then President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the roof of the White House in protest. America had tried to send a message that it would not depend on oil for long.
There was a good understanding between Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the Crown Prince had a good friendship.
In 2018, MBS increased oil production at the behest of Trump to reduce the price and cut production in 2020 to benefit America’s shale industry. Biden, on the other hand, went on a tour of Saudi Arabia in July for the same purpose, but to no avail.
According to the report of American news website Axios, Saudi Arabia got the statement by pressurizing Arab countries to support the decision of OPEC Plus.
Axios has said this citing US and Saudi Arabian officials. According to the report, Saudi Arabia did not want the US to isolate it.
Saudi Arabia also wanted to prove that the decision to cut oil production was not only of Saudi Arabia, but of OPEC Plus. However, the US has announced a review of relations with Saudi Arabia.
