Saudis Launched Oil Price War After ‘MbS Shouting Match with Putin’

Saudis Launched Oil Price War After ‘MbS Shouting Match with Putin’

A telephone call last month between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman degenerated into a shouting match just before Riyadh decided to flood the market with oil in a move which sent prices spiralling. Saudi officials with knowledge of the disastrous call told Middle East Eye that the row threatened…

The Saudi Royal Family should Beware Fighting Among Themselves

The Saudi Royal Family should Beware Fighting Among Themselves

Purges, interrogation, claims of torture, accusations of treason, suspicion of murder, an insane war in Yemen and ruinous plans for a “reformed” kingdom, all supported by the US and the west and an often fawning media. So what’s new? Poor Mohammed bin Salman is surely getting a bum rap. Far from being a frightening and uncontrollable new…

Playing for Higher Stakes: Saudi Arabia Gambles on Oil War with Russia

Playing for Higher Stakes: Saudi Arabia Gambles on Oil War with Russia

Saudi Arabia’s oil spat with Russia throws a spanner into the works of the Kingdom’s long-standing effort to hedge its bets, a strategy that has taken on added significance as the Gulf comes to grips with the likelihood that the region’s security architecture will fundamentally change. Saudi Arabia, despite a primary focus on close ties…

The World Can’t Forget the Fight for the Saudi Crown Amid Virus Panic

The World Can’t Forget the Fight for the Saudi Crown Amid Virus Panic

The fear caused by the coronavirus outbreak is greater than that provoked by a serious war because everybody is in the front line and everybody knows that they are a potential casualty. The best parallel is the terror felt by people facing occupation by a hostile foreign army; even if, in the present case, the…

How Mohammed bin Salman’s Biggest Gamble May Cost Him the Throne

How Mohammed bin Salman’s Biggest Gamble May Cost Him the Throne

For much of its existence, Saudi Arabia was stable. It was an absolute monarchy which dealt with dissidents ruthlessly. Arbitrary detention, torture, disappearances at home and kidnappings abroad were its staple diet. Wahhabism was used as a brutal method of religious and social control. Kings bought popularity by handouts such as paying for degrees abroad….