Finally, there is good news for Europe. Europe which was gasping for its breath has been given a lifeline. Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, has played a move that’ll turn everything upside down for Biden. All unscrupulous plans Biden to capitalise on the Ukraine war will now turn into dust.
The United States and Saudi Arabia established full diplomatic ties in 1933, and the 1951 Mutual Defence Assistance Agreement solidified these ties. The relationship’s fundamental tenet was that the US would provide Saudi Arabia with military security in return for Saudi Arabia’s consistent oil supply, oil prices in US dollars. Saudi also backed US foreign policy initiatives across the globe.
As a result, Saudi Arabia has seen a rise in its political and economic clout across the world. With US support, Saudi derived economic power from oil supplies and the foremost Muslim brotherhood. Therefore, from being a poor country, Saudi Arabia gained prominence as the biggest power in the Middle East.
Despite their contrary views on human rights and the Arab-Israeli conflict, the US and Saudi Arabia remained strong allies for more than 70 years. But, their arrangement has visible indications of tensions recently.
So, how does everything changed? It all started after US Presidential elections in 2008 when Obama was elected. Obama administration’s JCPOA deal wounded Washington’s relations with Riyadh. Riyadh realised that the deal threatened its status quo and that the Middle Eastern geopolitical trends would turn against it in no time. Not only that, the deal endangered both its influence in the area and its personal security.
Why? Because the Saudis view Iran as a rival with no barriers to regional dominance, one that can further embolden Shiite populations in the Gulf monarchies, including Saudi Arabia, to rebel against their Sunni rulers. To put things in perspective, Iran already is seen as being dominant in Iraq and Lebanon, holding onto its ally in Syria. Furthermore, Obama also threatened Saudi Arabia’s presence in Yemen which supports its government. It gave concessions to Iran-backed Houthis by pushing Riyadh to ease airstrikes.
Read More: Biden could start a new war in the Middle East just to ruin the Saudi-Iran peace talks
And now, Biden is continuing the same policies as Obama. A different strategy than US President Donald Trump, who welcomed Saudi Arabia and made it his first foreign destination after taking office in 2017 and waived off the JCPOA deal with Iran.
Biden demonised Saudi Arabia throughout his presidential campaign for the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and US citizen. After assuming office in 2021, Biden distanced himself from the Saudis. Biden has continuously looked to appease Iran so as to reinstate the JCPOA deal. His administration also removed Iran-backed Houthis from the terrorist list and even lifted travel sanctions from IRGC men.
The US’ geopolitics was changing until it realised that it needed Saudi Arabia despite being oil-independent. After US pushed Ukraine into war with Russia, oil prices shot up and inflation rose across the world. It impacted European nations the most; their people faced rising inflation and sky-high cost of living.
The higher oil prices have benefited Russia, as Moscow is expected to make $321 billion from energy exports in 2022, an increase of more than a third from 2021. The amount is enough to finance its invasion of Ukraine. It is minting around a billion dollars every day from its fuel exports.
In July, US President Joe Biden made a trip to Middle-east in an effort to amend his wrongdoings. Joe Biden requested Saudi Arabia to pump more oil to support the US economy. Biden through his trip hoped for increased oil production so as to reduce oil prices and cut Russia’s benefits.
But his efforts failed when OPEC+ recently declared to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day which will shore up prices, hence defying U.S. pressure. This move will turn things around as US was heading towards re-industrialisation. The US was capitalising on the high energy prices in Europe which made several companies shift their operations to North America.
Read More: The war in Ukraine makes Saudi Arabia richer by $56 billion
But after the output cut, oil prices would soar in the United States, ending its leverage on low energy prices and putting a break on America’s economic recovery which just had started taking shape. Europe would rejoice as it’d put an end to the de-industrialisation that is taking place there.
This would harm Joe Biden in the Midterms gravely and he will lose the majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, making him toothless. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has attacked just where it hurts the most, avenging all the humiliation Riyadh has faced after Democrats’ bonhomie with Tehran.
