In his latest dissenter purge starting on 6 March, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) called for the arrest of at least 20 officials, princes, and army officers, including 4 members of the royal family.
The list includes King Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, former Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef, former head of army intelligence Prince Nayef bin Ahmed, and Prince Nawaf bin Nayef, who have been detained due to an alleged coup plot.
The Saudi administration has not yet released an official response to the reports. The move is seen as MBS' latest attempt to consolidate power in an unsuccessful bid to change international perceptions about the controversial Kingdom and its human rights abuses. Over the past 3 years, MBS has called for arrests and allegedly even killings of journalists, state officials, and royal family members that have questioned the crown.
Simultaneously, on Sunday, Riyadh shocked the energy market by initiating a price war against former ally, Moscow. This resulted in a historic collapse of global oil prices, with Brent crude, the global standard, plunging 22% to $35 a barrel. US companies have also faced a massive hit, with prices hitting a four-year low of $30 a barrel, suffering a crash of 27%.
The chaos ensued after the oil alliance between OPEC and Russia imploded at the Vienna meeting on Friday, when Moscow refused to join the Organization’s efforts to salvage the coronavirus-battered global oil market by cutting production. This stunned the oil industry, leading to an almost immediate 10% plunge prices. But the situation escalated multifold after Saudi Arabia retaliated and slashed its selling prices by $6 in a bid to pressurize Russia. Traders across the world are now preparing for Saudi producers to flood the market with crude to retake Russia’s market share.
While the first big impact was felt by Saudi’s Aramco itself, such a major drop in worldwide oil pricing will badly affect producers around the world, especially those in Iran and Venezuela, whose oil-based economies are already crumbling under American sanctions.
Image Source: Bangkok Post
Saudi's MBS Shocks World, 'Purges' More Dissenters and Sends Global Oil Prices Crashing
March 9, 2020
