Saudi Arabia’s Oil War Has Torpedoed Iraq
Already reeling from the new coronavirus and political paralysis, Iraqis will know whom to blame for their deepening misfortunes.
No more smiles.
Photographer: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu via Getty Images
As is often the case with an impulsive all-powerful ruler, the consequences of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s precipitous oil war may take years to play out. True, the repercussions for his country’s economy seem clear: stunted growth, increased debt, dwindled reserves, wider deficits. On the foreign-policy side of the ledger, Riyadh’s relations with Moscow are now in the red.
But did anyone in Prince Mohammed’s close circle think through the implications for ties with other Arab states? The countries closest to Saudi Arabia — Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt — will stay onside, either because their rulers share Riyadh’s worldview, or because they depend on its largesse. Some, like Kuwait and Oman, will endure the reduced export revenues because they are too small to criticize the Saudis. (Qatar, still subject to an embargo by a Saudi-led coalition, won’t get much of a hearing.)