The Iran war may have been the catalyst, but the UAE’s decision to leave the oil cartel is the culmination of years of geopolitical divergence with Saudi Arabia.
"Iraq is so dependent on their exports leaving the Persian Gulf," says Council Lester Crown Senior Nonresident Fellow Rachel Bronson. "I am really worried about unintended consequences."
"Bushehr—the nuclear power plant—is closer to Doha and Dubai than it is to Tehran," says Council Lester Crown Senior Nonresident Fellow Rachel Bronson. "Our allies would be at risk . . . should there be a leak."
"I want to know who the nuclear experts are that are going," the Council's Rachel Bronson said of the US delegation. "We're sending over novices at the moment, and that should give us considerable concern."
"A two-week ceasefire is going to be very unstable," Council Lester Crown Senior Nonresident Fellow Rachel Bronson says. "You need to have some stability for tankers to move in and out, so anything that threatens that will continue this crisis and keep energy prices high."
"What we're seeing, of course, is that the global economy runs on energy, and a significant shock like this will move through the system for years to come," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Rachel Bronson tells Bloomberg Open Interest.
"A nuclear resurgence will bring hard questions, especially for the United States, which risks ceding ground to Russia and China if it fails to act," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Rachel Bronson writes.
"The markets can take it for a short amount of time," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Rachel Bronson says. "Beyond that—very difficult. Prices will increase, [and] people will feel it at home."
US President Donald Trump has called for regime change, the destruction of Iranian military capability, and the degradation of proxy groups. But an operation with multiple goals carries greater risk.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet this week in Beijing, with bilateral trade high on the agenda. What does it mean for Trump’s efforts to exert control over the Western Hemisphere?
