Biden threatens Saudi Arabia with repercussions after the OPEC decision.
- Rifts between the United States and Saudi Arabia are widening.
- Joe Biden responds to OPEC+’s decision to reduce oil output.
- Refuses to provide specifics about his proposal.
WASHINGTON – After OPEC+ announced last week that it will cut oil output in response to US objections, President Joe Biden promised on Tuesday that “there would be repercussions” for US ties with Saudi Arabia.
His decision came a day after prominent Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that all collaboration with Saudi Arabia, including military sales, must be halted immediately.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Biden refused to reveal the possibilities he was evaluating.
“I’m not going to go into detail about what I’d consider or have in mind. But there will be — there will be repercussions “He said.
Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, said a policy review will be done but provided no date for action or details on who would head the re-evaluation. The US would keep a careful eye on the issue “in the next weeks and months,” she added.
After weeks of lobbying by US officials, OPEC+ announced plans for an oil output reduction last week. The US accused Saudi Arabia of kowtowing to Russia, which is opposed to a Western ceiling on Russian oil prices prompted by the Ukraine incursion.
US officials have been quietly attempting to convince Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to abandon the notion of a production reduction.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Bin Salman and Biden fought during Biden’s July visit to Jeddah over the 2018 killing of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi.
The White House’s national security spokesman, John Kirby, said Biden will engage with Congress “to think through what that partnership needs to look like moving forward.”
“And I believe he will be willing to begin having those talks right immediately. I don’t believe this is something that will have to wait or should wait for much longer, to be honest “Kirby said.
State Department spokesman Ned Price also said on Tuesday that the Biden administration will not neglect Iran, a US opponent and Saudi Arabia’s fierce regional competitor, in the evaluation.
The danger posed by Iran in the area has influenced several US weaponry sales to Saudi Arabia.
“There are security concerns, some of which come from Iran. Certainly, we will not lose sight of the danger that Iran poses not just to the region, but even, in some respects, beyond “Price said.
