Saudi Arabia Calls The End Of Russia’s Oil Prowess

 

Saudi Arabia has not only called the end of Russia’s prominence as a global oil behemoth, but anticipates that Russia’s oil exports “will have declined heavily if not disappeared” within the next 19 years, Mohammed bin Salman said in a recent interview with Bloomberg.

Neo-Ottomanism Surges in Middle East Politics

 

The fate of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hangs in the balance. The common perception is that everything depends on which way President Donald Trump moves – go by his own preference to bury the scandal over Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance or give in to the rising demand that Saudi-American relations can no longer be business as usual. Trump’s mood swing suggests he is dithering.

The World’s Most Dangerous Man

 

On June 19, Saudi Arabia reportedly captured three members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. A newsworthy story in its own right.

But what the Saudis allege the three were doing is much bigger news.

When captured, these three men were on-board one of three boats that were approaching the offshore Saudi oil field Marjan.¹

They were not there for sightseeing.

The vessels (again this is according to the Saudis) were loaded to the brim with the types of materials that made the intent of the Iranians very clear…

New Crown Prince Mohammed seen taking a harder line on Iran

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

 

In elevating his son Prince Mohammed to next in line to the throne, Saudi King Salman approved a strategic realignment with the U.S. under Donald Trump and handed sweeping new powers to the 31-year-old who has been highly critical of regional rival Iran.

The decision by King Salman to promote his son to crown prince and consolidate his power was endorsed by 31 of 34 members of the Allegiance Council, made up of senior members of the ruling Al Saud family, Reuters reported on June 21.

Iran threatens Saudi Arabia

Hossein Dehqan (Reuters)

 

Iran’s defense minister threatens to leave no part of Saudi Arabia untouched if Riyadh “does anything ignorant”.

Iran’s defense minister threatened Saudi Arabia on Sunday, days after a Saudi prince ruled out dialogue with Tehran and said he would protect his kingdom from what he called Iranian efforts to dominate the Muslim world.

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“If the Saudis do anything ignorant, we will leave no area untouched except Mecca and Medina,” Dehqan said, according to the report, in comments made to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV.

Saudis’ upcoming trip to China sends strong signal to US

© Getty Images

 

King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia is leading an entourage, including 25 senior princes and 10 ministers, to China later this month, part of a month-long tour of the Asia-Pacific, as the kingdom is seeking to hedge against an unpredictable and divided White House.

While it yearns for a renewed American role in the Middle East and reassurances from President Trump that Riyadh remains an ally, Saudi Arabia now faces a period of uncertainty due to the unpredictability of Trump’s foreign policy stance. That reason alone could explain why a trip to Beijing was planned before a trip to Washington.

Despite its efforts at economic diversification, Saudi Arabia will remain dependent on oil exports for a long time, and China provides the kingdom with a stable market for its energy exports for decades to come.

Behind Saudi prince’s U.S. visit: Reports of royal health crises back home

Saudi Arabia may havae [sic] sent its 30-year-old deputy crown prince to visit the United States due to the deteriorating health of King Salman and amid rumors that Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is ailing as well.

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with U.S. President Barack Obama on June 24 to “reaffirm the strategic partnership between Riyadh and Washington,” Bruce Riedel, a former national intelligence officer, told NBC News.

Iran oil exports surpass 2 million barrels per day — minister

Expanded trading in the wake of lifted economic sanctions driving oil prices down some 60% worldwide

TEHRAN — Iran’s oil exports have surpassed 2 million barrels per day following the lifting of sanctions under its nuclear deal with world powers, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Sunday.

“Iran’s oil and gas condensate exports are now at more than 2 million barrels per day” after rising by 250,000 bpd since March 1, the ministry’s Shana news service quoted Zanganeh as saying.

Saudi Arabia Plans $2 Trillion Megafund for Post-Oil Era: Deputy Crown Prince

Saudi Arabia is getting ready for the twilight of the oil age by creating the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund for the kingdom’s most prized assets.

Over a five-hour conversation, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out his vision for the Public Investment Fund, which will eventually control more than $2 trillion and help wean the kingdom off oil. As part of that strategy, the prince said Saudi will sell shares in Aramco’s parent company and transform the oil giant into an industrial conglomerate. The initial public offering could happen as soon as next year, with the country currently planning to sell less than 5 percent.

Pakistan threatens to wipe Iran off the map if Saudi harmed

In Pakistan’s first transparent nuclear threat to Iran, its chief of army staff, Gen. Raheel Sharif, vowed Sunday to wipe Iran off the face of the earth if any harm came to Saudi Arabia.

Did Saudi Arabia Just Clear The Way For An Invasion Of Syria And Iraq?

And now, a further turn for the absurd…

While it’s still far from common knowledge among the Western public that Washington’s closest allies in the Mid-East are funding, arming, and otherwise enabling the Sunni extremists (including ISIS) battling for control of Syria and working to destabilize Iraq, the massacre that unfolded earlier this month in San Bernardino has managed to focus some much needed attention on the role Saudi Arabia plays in promoting extremism.

As we noted in the immediate aftermath of the California mass shooting, the fact that Tashfeen Malik spent 25 years in Saudi Arabia living with a father who, according to family members who spoke to Reuters, adopted an increasingly hardline ideology as time went on, underscores the fact that the puritanical, ultra orthodox belief system promoted by the Saudis is poisonous. That’s not a critique of Islam. It’s a critique of Wahhabism and the effect it has on the minds of those who are inculcated by Saudi culture. 

Saudi Arabia forms anti-terror military alliance

If it’s not limited to ISIS, then this could also be perceived as a hedge against Iran and possibly a new bloc opposed to Israel.

 

“The countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations center based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations,” the statement said.

Saudi princes said to call for regime change

Apparently Iran was on to something when it said the Saudi leadership wouldn’t be around in another 20 years from now. Maybe Iran knew beforehand something was going on behind the scenes. Maybe Iran penetrated the Saudi leadership circles and now have influence.

We’ll know more in the future about any possible influence as events unfold, especially if they become pro-Iran.

If Iran ever somehow took control of Saudi Arabia through influential channels, or united with them, they will have succeeded in their long-term ambitions of becoming the Middle East hegemon and new superpower on the world stage. How events have already been unfolding throughout the last decades, it seems already likely, but this would erase all doubt that Iran is the Biblically prophesied King of the South.

 

Genealogical table of the leaders of the Āl Saud. (Image by Slackerlawstudent)

 

Senior member of Saudi royal family calls for coup to replace King Salman as the country’s leader

A Saudi prince has reportedly launched an unprecedented campaign against Saudi King Salman, calling for a coup to replace the monarch, claiming he “led the country to disaster.”

Speaking to the British daily The Guardian, the unnamed prince — one of the hundreds of grandsons of the nation’s founder, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud — said plans were being put into place to replace Salman, who succeeded King Abdullah in January.

Egypt and Saudis sign pact boosting military, economic ties

‘Cairo Declaration’ calls for new joint Arab army to fight regional terrorism

Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a pact in Cairo on Thursday aimed at boosting military and economic ties between the two Arab allies.

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On Thursday, a Saudi delegation led by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Cairo and signed the “Cairo Declaration,” also attending a military parade with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.