Trey Paul, FISM News
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President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia will face “consequences” after ministers with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) announced a major cut in oil production.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers say they want to freeze cooperation with the Saudis, which includes weapon sales. White House officials said higher oil prices will help Russia pay for its war in Ukraine, prompting Biden to admit it’s time for the U.S to rethink its relationship with Saudi Arabia.
American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers called the OPEC cut “really bad news for American consumers” while appearing on FOX News. Sommers said the Biden administration is to blame for having the U.S. rely on foreign oil and that it “was a choice” for the U.S. to be “about a million barrels [per day] of production down from where we were in 2019.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told Saudi-owed Al Arabiya on Tuesday that his government’s production cuts are “purely economic.”
President Biden’s words are drawing concern and criticism from conservative lawmakers including Texas Congressman Lance Gooden who tweeted: “Joe Biden plans to punish Saudi Arabia for not pumping more oil. For 20 months, Biden has punished domestic producers for wanting to pump more American oil.”
Joe Biden plans to punish Saudi Arabia for not pumping more oil.
For 20 months, Biden has punished domestic producers for wanting to pump more American oil.
— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) October 12, 2022
For now, the Saudis are a United States ally. According to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have strong security and economic relationships with Saudi Arabia being the third leading source of imported oil for the United States. The kingdom provides about half a million barrels of oil to the U.S. market per day.
U.S. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas tweeted that “Joe Biden is now asking Saudi Arabia to delay cutting oil production for one reason: to help his party in the midterms.”
Joe Biden asked Saudi Arabia to delay cutting oil production for one reason: to help his party in the midterms. pic.twitter.com/ZeneeZUwYT
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 12, 2022
Biden came into office promising to change the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia because of the country’s human rights record. Biden vowed that Saudi rulers would “pay the price” for the 2018 killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom’s leadership. Biden went even further and said that he’d look to make the oil-rich country a “pariah”, but then turned around and visited the country in July amid rising gas prices.
During the visit, he met with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, a man who he claims was linked to the death of Khashoggi. The crown prince denied he was involved, but the U.S. intelligence community determined that he likely approved the killing of Khashoggi.
For some, OPEC+’s decision to cut oil production should come as no surprise. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told FOX News: “Don’t be shocked when OPEC is not your friend and doesn’t go and lift and raise production. I mean, they did exactly what I think they wanted to do, which was stick it to Biden.”
Haley was one of the key officials who urged then-President Donald Trump to exit the Iran nuclear deal, which he did in May 2018. Since taking office, the Biden administration has been working to reenter an Iran nuclear deal, which among other things, has been criticized for not doing enough to keep a nuclear weapon away from Iran, which is an adversary of Saudi Arabia.
“I don’t know why he’s [President Biden] mad when you go and you call for the rest of the world to make Saudi Arabia an international pariah,” Haley told FOX News host Maria Bartiromo. “When you go in, you fall all over yourself to get into the Iran deal, which upsets all of the Arab countries.”