{"id":67451,"date":"2024-04-21T14:42:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-21T19:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=67451"},"modified":"2024-04-21T14:42:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T19:42:59","slug":"almost-everything-is-about-oil-in-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=67451","title":{"rendered":"Almost Everything is About Oil in the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fl-row fl-row-full-width fl-row-bg-color fl-node-cslrb7d1k2ea fl-row-default-height fl-row-align-center\" data-node=\"cslrb7d1k2ea\">\n<div class=\"fl-row-content-wrap\">\n<div class=\"fl-row-content fl-row-fixed-width fl-node-content\">\n<div class=\"fl-col-group fl-node-d4p9vu2tw17n\" data-node=\"d4p9vu2tw17n\">\n<div class=\"fl-col fl-node-a39y1io0ntju\" data-node=\"a39y1io0ntju\">\n<div class=\"fl-col-content fl-node-content\">\n<div class=\"fl-module fl-module-heading fl-node-7vpkgh1oj3di\" data-node=\"7vpkgh1oj3di\">\n<div class=\"fl-module-content fl-node-content\">\n<h3 class=\"fl-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artberman.com\/blog\/almost-everything-is-about-oil-in-the-middle-east\/\"><span class=\"fl-heading-text\">Almost Everything is About Oil in the Middle East<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fl-row fl-row-fixed-width fl-row-bg-none fl-node-jwl2yhnkeoas fl-row-default-height fl-row-align-center\" data-node=\"jwl2yhnkeoas\">\n<div class=\"fl-row-content-wrap\">\n<div class=\"fl-row-content fl-row-fixed-width fl-node-content\">\n<div class=\"fl-col-group fl-node-0p15or6yflcv\" data-node=\"0p15or6yflcv\">\n<div class=\"fl-col fl-node-p80lbv6e7rwz\" data-node=\"p80lbv6e7rwz\">\n<div class=\"fl-col-content fl-node-content\">\n<div class=\"fl-module fl-module-photo fl-node-y1jbo8qcifkv\" data-node=\"y1jbo8qcifkv\">\n<div class=\"fl-module-content fl-node-content\">\n<div class=\"fl-photo fl-photo-align-center\">\n<div class=\"fl-photo-content fl-photo-img-jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"fl-photo-img wp-image-11331 size-full\" title=\"Energy Aware\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artberman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Energy-awareness.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artberman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Energy-awareness.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.artberman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Energy-awareness-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.artberman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Energy-awareness-768x512.jpg 768w\" alt=\"Energy Aware\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fl-row fl-row-fixed-width fl-row-bg-none fl-node-uh5t43yxv9ls fl-row-default-height fl-row-align-center\" data-node=\"uh5t43yxv9ls\">\n<div class=\"fl-row-content-wrap\">\n<div class=\"fl-row-content fl-row-fixed-width fl-node-content\">\n<div class=\"fl-col-group fl-node-10ahpolr5cn2\" data-node=\"10ahpolr5cn2\">\n<div class=\"fl-col fl-node-kayjfn5csmv0\" data-node=\"kayjfn5csmv0\">\n<div class=\"fl-col-content fl-node-content\">\n<div class=\"fl-module fl-module-fl-post-content fl-node-5ycl9dxfqmo7\" data-node=\"5ycl9dxfqmo7\">\n<div class=\"fl-module-content fl-node-content\">\n<p>Perhaps the most extraordinary part of Iran\u2019s April 13 attack on Israel was that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/plinkhq.com\/i\/1685475850?to=applepod\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">it was countered by a coalition<\/a>\u00a0that included Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is also noteworthy that this was the first time that the United States engaged militarily in Israel\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n<p>The events of April did not begin with the October 6, 2023 strike on Israel from Gaza but have their origins decades earlier. It is now evident, however, that the catalyst for Hamas\u2019 attack was the impending normalization of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.<\/p>\n<p>This would have had significant consequences for Israel\u2019s oil supply, an important aspect of the present crisis that is rarely discussed by the press or politicians. Almost everything is about oil in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>The Saudis were ready to join the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/9\/17\/three-years-on-how-have-the-abraham-accords-done-for-the-uae\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Abraham Accords\u00a0<\/a>that in 2020 established ties between the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco and Israel on regional security and trade.<\/p>\n<p>As a direct consequence,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/mideast-africa\/2021\/09\/07\/us-central-command-absorbs-israel-into-its-area-of-responsibility\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u00a0Israel was officially moved under the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in early 2021<\/a>, shifting from its decades-long alignment with the U.S. European Command (EUCOM).<\/p>\n<p>The timing of the Gaza incursion into Israel in October was designed to prevent Saudi Arabia from joining the Abraham Accords.<\/p>\n<p>It is hardly a coincidence that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/3\/15\/vessel-struck-in-red-sea-as-houthis-vow-attacks-on-more-shipping-lanes#:~:text=The%20Houthis%20have%20been%20attacking,attacks%2C%20al%2DHouthi%20said.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Houthi attacks on shipping in the Suez Canal and the Red Sea<\/a>\u00a0started in November. Almost\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spglobal.com\/commodityinsights\/en\/market-insights\/latest-news\/shipping\/122123-factbox-seaborne-trade-reroutes-away-from-red-sea-over-houthi-attacks#:~:text=The%20Suez%20Canal%20and%20the%20Bab%20al%2DMandab%20Strait%20accounted,the%20US%20Energy%20Information%20Administration.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">9 million barrels of oil per day (mmb\/d) pass through the Canal and the Bab al-Mandab Strait<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s worth recalling that the Houthis have been in an armed conflict with Saudi Arabia in Yemen since 2015, and were responsible for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/economy\/2019\/9\/14\/houthi-drone-attacks-on-2-saudi-aramco-oil-facilities-spark-fires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">attacking the main Saudi refinery complex in 2019<\/a>. Both Hamas and the Houthis, along with Hezbollah in Lebanon, are funded and largely directed by Iran.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;click on the above link to read the rest of the article&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Almost Everything is About Oil in the Middle East Perhaps the most extraordinary part of Iran\u2019s April 13 attack on Israel was that\u00a0it was countered by a coalition\u00a0that included Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is also noteworthy that this was the first time that the United States engaged militarily in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[8195,6116,441,442,1049,522,588,701,19169,862],"class_list":["post-67451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy-2","category-geopolitics","tag-art-berman","tag-gaza","tag-iran","tag-iraq","tag-israel","tag-middle-east","tag-oil","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-suez-canal","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67452,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67451\/revisions\/67452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}