Not surprisingly the crown prince has refused to help Mr. Biden, reacting largely to the killing of Washington Post columnistīranded the entire Saudi state a “pariah.” As president, he doubled down on insults by refusing even to speak to Crownģ6, who rules the kingdom for his elderly and infirm father, That relationship lasted, despite ups and downs, through 14 U.S. That means the two nations must return to the security-for-oil relationship that began nearly eight decades ago with and Saudi Arabia have reason to do everything possible to prevent the disruption of Saudi supply. With oil already at $100 a barrel, the U.S. Intriguingly, Iran ensured last summer the ability to export its oil by opening a new pipeline to the Indian Ocean. Iran and Russia are fully capable of initiating any of these plots. The third route, through the Suez Canal, was briefly blocked last year when a tanker ran aground. In recent years Iranian missiles have fired on oil tankers in both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb, the two main routes for Saudi oil tankers supplying the world. In September 2019, 50% of Saudi oil production was shut down by a missile attack from Iranian allies in Yemen.
