by Ari Yashar
Analysts agree radical drop in oil prices due to Saudis flooding market in attempt to crush Iran as US not stopping its nuclear program.
Oil prices have nosedived from $115 a barrel last August to under $60 a barrel by the middle of this month, with many analysts, in the wake of Arutz Sheva columnist and Middle East expert Dr. Mordecai Kedar, appraising that Saudi Arabia has intentionally caused the price drop as a weapon against Iran, over fears of a deal giving the Islamic regime nuclear weapons.
As the US-led talks continue to meet and breach deadlines and Iran demands enough centrifuges to build 38 nuclear bombs each year, the oil prices are seen as way the Saudis can directly harm their Iranian rivals.
Even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this month said the oil price drop is a plot against Iran, saying "the fall in crude price is not merely an economic issue. Rather, it is caused by a plot and political planning by certain countries."
According to Foreign Policy, Saudi Arabia is behind the drop in prices, with the paper noting that in September the Gulf state boosted oil production by half a percent to 9.6 million barrels a day, and then offered increased discounts to major Asian customers, causing global prices to plummet by nearly 30%.
This isn't even the first time the Saudis have crashed the market to get at Iran according to the paper, which notes in 1977 Saudi Arabia flooded the markets by boosting production from 8 million to 11.8 million barrels a day and cutting crude prices, setting in motion the Iranian Revolution.
More recently, amid numerous statements by Saudi leaders noting that oil prices can be used to punish Iran for supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and for developing its nuclear program, the Saudis in 2008 flooded the market again at the height of the global financial crisis.
Prices fell from their record high of $147 per barrel to a mere $33 within just six months, putting the squeeze on then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and causing a near revolution that was squashed by the Iranian regime as the US stood by on the sidelines.
The Canadian National Post noted that while last week Abdullah Al-Badri, secretary general of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) blamed the price drop on speculation, that assessment was "nonsense" as no speculator would encourage the sale of oil at less than its real market value.
Ari Yashar
Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188905#.VJc7AP8NBFE
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment