The Saudi-Arabija-Russia Oil Cut-Biden-Congress-Washington Correspondence: Why Does The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry Agree?
Bordoff says that a lot of people in D.C. believe that Saudi Arabia is aligning itself with Russia at a time when the world is facing an energy crisis.
The crown prince is a transactional leader, Panikoff explains, and the U.S. will have to decide if it wants to spend time and energy rebuilding its strategic relationship with the kingdom or become more transactional, as well. Panikoff says that could affect Saudi Arabia’s security guarantees.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement Wednesday night rejecting claims that the oil supply cut was “politically motivated against the United States” or that the Saudis were “taking sides” in an international conflict — apparently referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It was more than just the fact that there was a cut in oil production. Biden went to Saudi Arabia three months ago to lobby against such a reduction, and the timing is just about right for the elections in the U.S., where gas prices could affect voters.
“It feels punitive against the Biden administration,” says Jonathan Panikoff, an expert on Middle East security at the Atlantic Council and a former U.S. intelligence analyst on the region.
“I think it’s difficult to see that it’s not just because of the U.S. political situation,” Panikoff says. “It may not have been the core reason for doing it, but they absolutely were happy to do it.”
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/13/1128523146/saudi-arabia-russia-opec-oil-cut-biden-congress-washington
Nuclear Security Issues in the Oil Corridor: The American-Gas Correspondence at the Oil and Oil Intermediate Scales
This week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reduced its forecasts for crude oil demand because of global inflation, high interest rates and other factors.
According to Maksad, the US and Gulf region were in contact with each other ahead of the meeting. He says there was an understanding of what the U.S. administration was pressuring members of the oil cartel to do.
But the Atlantic Council’s Panikoff says freezing weapons sales to Saudi Arabia may not be the wisest move as it could allow China to fill that void. He says instead, the U.S. needs to be “smarter” about how it approaches the Saudis.
I don’t think we’ve fully accepted the idea that he’s different than what we’ve seen before. And so we’re going to have to have a different relationship,” he says.
He believes that we don’t sell the more advanced aircraft. “Maybe we remove some Patriot batteries and say, ‘Look, we recognize your security, we’re not trying to diminish it. … We have to balance our security goals as well.’”
“And so they are building bridges to China, which, by the way, accounts for over a quarter of oil exports from Saudi Arabia,” he says, “and also with Russia, that had been sort of expanding its role in the Middle East.”
Ben-Gvir’s visit to the ancient holy site of the Al-Aqsa mosque in the Middle East, a rebbered by the international community
The United Arab Emirates, a key ally of Israel, says it is pushing, with China’s support, for the U.N. Security Council to discuss the situation. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it urged the UAE to request the meeting, and that it is expected to take place Thursday.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located on a hilltop in the center of Israel’s new ultranationalist government. The site is revered in Islam as the Noble Sanctuary, but it is also known in Judaism as the Temple Mount because it was the location of the biblical Temples.
Ben-Gvir has long called for better access and rights to Jews on the hilltop, despite his recent conviction for ties to a racist organization. Benjamin Netanyahu said that there would not be any change to the status of the holy site. Any change to the way the religious site is being run could lead to a lot of violence.
The UAE was among the first Arab countries to criticize Ben-Gvir’s visit to the compound, and held calls with Turkey and Jordan on the matter. Most of the Arab countries have slammed the visit and called it “provocative.”
Elham Fakhro, a Bahraini research fellow at the University of Exeter, says public opinion in the Gulf is largely opposed to Israeli actions against Palestinians, and is skeptical that formal ties with Arab states can change Israel’s policies.
“I think what’s happening now is there’s been a maturing of the relationship between the two sides. Fakhro, author of a forthcoming book on the U.S.-brokered deals that formalized ties between Israel and the Gulf Arab states of Bahrain and the United Kingdom, says that the Emiratis are more confident in the relationship with Israel.
She says the United States is trying to use their influence. It is not clear whether Netanyahu will be a willing partner.
“It’s not believable at all.” It’s totally intolerable,” former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tells NPR. ” I am fully aware of the reaction of the international community.”
CNN put out a version of this story in its Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-part weekly look inside the region’s biggest stories. You can sign up here.
It looks like a city out of a science fiction movie: Space pods, flying dragons and floating rocks. But this is the birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia, which wants to transform its capital into one of “the most livable cities on Earth.”
A new downtown is being built in the capital Riyadh. Spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the “New Murabba” (new square) project is meant to expand the capital by some 19 square kilometers (4,695 acres) to accommodate hundreds of thousands of residents.
At the heart of the project is the “Mukaab,” a 400-meter (1,312-foot) high, 400-meter wide and 400-meter-long cube that is big enough to fit 20 Empire State buildings. It offers “an immersive experience” with landscapes changing from outer space to green vistas, according to Public Investment Fund (PIF), the MBS-led $620-billion sovereign wealth fund. The project is anticipated to be completed by 2030.
Holographic technology is meant to offer “a new reality” to consumers as they shop and dine. The building has hotels, residential units and recreational facilities.
Why is Saudi Arabia so far from the Delta? The Neom city of 2020, a 500 billion futuristic city that includes artificial moon, robot maids, and flying taxis
Saudi Arabia, which has been the subject of bad press for decades due to human rights violations, has embarked on an ambitious project to diversify the economy away from oil and shed its image as a conservative, closed-off state.
But some analysts say Saudi Arabia has serious regional competition from neighboring Dubai and the Qatari capital Doha, both of which have for decades tried to position themselves as regional tourism and investment hubs.
“Being second in the race is always a tough place to start when you want to become the leader,” said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy program at The Washington Institute. Saudi Arabia is particularly difficult to attract foreign visitors because they haven’t been popular for decades.
The finances are not completely secured. Krieg said that Riyadh had tried to get a lot of foreign investment to realize the project.
The Neom city of 2020 will be a $500 billion futuristic city that includes a giant artificial moon, robotic maids, and flying taxis. He unveiled a giant linear city called the Line, which was intended to stretch over 106 miles and house 9 million people.
The kingdom already has an $800 billion plan to double the size of the capital in the next decade, as well as transform it into a cultural and economic hub for the region, according to Saudi media.
“The more absurd and futuristic these projects get, the more I can’t help but imagine how much more dystopian everything surrounding them will be,” wrote Dana Ahmed, a Gulf researcher at Amnesty International, on Twitter.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/middleeast/saudi-arabia-mukaab-mime-intl/index.html
PIF, the New City of Accra, Saudi Arabia, and the Syria-Mukaab-Mime-Intl
Asked about the cost and financing plans, PIF told CNN that details have not yet been disclosed and that it will announce further information in due course.
Saudi Arabia hopes to raise its FDI to over $100 billion a year by the year 2030. According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the kingdom has $19 billion in foreign direct investment.
He said that the kingdom might need oil prices to hit the $100 level in order to finance national megaprojects.
While some mocked the new city and cast doubts about its viability, others pointed to the uncanny resemblance its cubic skyscraper has with Islam’s holiest site in Mecca.
Millions of people travel to Mecca each year to worship at the Kaaba, which is located in the same area as the new Mukaab building.
The death toll from the Turkey-Syria earthquake continued to rise two weeks after it struck as Turkey ended its search and rescue operations in all but two affected provinces.
The ministry said the body of Christian Atsu came to the country on Sunday evening after it was flown from Turkey. Ghana’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and a large military procession met the coffin on arrival in Accra.
Over 105,000 buildings have been identified as collapsing or about to collapse according to the Vice President of Turkey.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/middleeast/saudi-arabia-mukaab-mime-intl/index.html
The Israeli Prime Minister Declared an Israeli Attack on a Liberian Tanker Ship in the Arabian Sea, and an Israeli Counter-attack Channel
On Sunday, Netanyahu’s management company said that the Israeli prime minister referred to a lightly damaged Campo Square as an attack on a tanker ship by Iran.
According to Eletson, the Campo Square was struck by an object in the Arabian Sea on February 10, and there was minor damage to the vessel. The ship “is owned by a Liberian company which is linked to the British company Zodiac Maritime Ltd.,” Zodiac Maritime told CNN Sunday. The company’s chairman, Eyal Ofer, is Israeli.
Why it matters: It’s the second time in less than three months that a tanker linked to Israel has been attacked off the coast of Oman. The Pacific Zircon was struck by what the United States said was an Iranian drone on November 15.
Iran International TV gained significance after the anti-government protests broke out in Iran, and followed by Tehran’s restriction of the internet and control of information in the country. Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of funding the channel, which its owners have denied.
Iran has sanctions against Iran International’s parent company for supporting terrorism. The channel was warned by the UK authorities in November that their reporters were in danger. A man was arrested near the station in London and charged with a terrorism offense.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/middleeast/saudi-arabia-mukaab-mime-intl/index.html
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan and the Tunisian Health Minister Abdellatif El Mekki: The issue of the hijab in the country after the Arab Spring
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said at a Munich security forum on Saturday that consensus was building in the Arab world that isolating Syria was not working and that dialogue with Damascus was needed “at some point” to at least address humanitarian issues, including a return of refugees, Reuters reported.
The minister spoke about a shift from the early days of Syria’s 12-year civil war when several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, supported rebels. In recent years, Arab states normalized their ties with Assad, despite the fact that he was snubbed by the West.
Former Tunisian health minister Abdellatif El Mekki wrote on his Facebook page, addressing the actor: “You have a right not to be convinced by the hijab or anything else, but you don’t have the right to say what you said, because at the least it is a lack of acceptance of differences, and it can be construed as incitement.”
Other guests on the television show countered that the head covering is a personal choice. Many people accused the actor of inciting against the women who wore hijabs. A video of his comments posted on Facebook went through more than $13,000 in comments, many of which were against his position.
The topic of the hijab is not easy for people in Tunisia. The wearing of the covering was severely restricted by the regime in the Muslim-majority country prior to the 2011 revolution that sparked the Arab Spring. The restrictions were lifted by the new government, led by the Ennahda party.