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[womfalcs3]

Saudis are pretty impressive themselves

The Saudi Council Of Ministers consist 100 % of the Saudi Monarchy
The Saudi Arabian Cabinet's religious composition is 100 % Sunni
The Saudi Arabian Cabinet's ethnic composition is 100 % Arab
The Saudi Arabian Cabinet's political affiliation consist 100 % of the Saudi Monarchy

Sorry. The ministers that I can think of who aren't members of the royal family:

- Adel Fakieh
- Adel Al-Jubair
- Ali Naimi
- Ibrahim Al-Assaf
- Khalid Al-Falih
- "Something" Isaa (minister of education)
- Minister of Labor
- others

All the ministers are members of the council of ministers.

 

[Harry Stewart]

It's a play by Saudi's and Iranians to enhances the stand-off position between OPEC and the States

You guys know that those two guys are the biggest members of OPEC right? They sit on one table and talk about the "important" stuff, not what they want us to talk about

Facts:
- Oil price down
- It's going to get worst when Iran starts pumping their 1 million barrels soon
- Stand-off on Oil led to the closure of a lot of American Oil companies
- Oil price should hover between $50-60 where it's high enough for Oil producing countries to survive and low enough to prevent US from restarting their companies

Saudi: "Yo RoRo.. market is fucked"
Iran: " tell me about it.. wait until I start pumping"
Saudi: "I know man! what to do now?"
Iran: "You tell me! you're acting all anti-terrorists and shit.. it was perfect dude"
Saudi: "I know, I'm sorry.. Listen!!!"
Iran: "What?"
Saudi: "I'll kill this dude in my prison and we start a decent fight to stir things up"
Iran: "mmm.. Has to be convincing though, not like the Bahrain interference shit that no one buys"
Saudi: "Sounds like a plan."
Iran: "Done.. but hey.. what about our people??!!"
Saudi: "LOL!"
Iran: "ROFL!"

Hilarious. Though this morning's oil price benchmarks are actually lower than yesterday, so maybe the markets aren't buying it.

 

[jimbobsmells]

What's the betting on Saudi Arabia withdrawing from the Syria peace process now?

 

[brian577]

Very interesting development. I still say they won't cut ties, but maybe "reduce" them like the UAE

They're doing neither, they only recalled the ambassador. The move appears to be largely symbolic

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

What's the betting on Saudi Arabia withdrawing from the Syria peace process now?

They said they won't according to the Minister of Foreign affairs current position in Libya, Syria and Yemen will remain unchanged.

 

[Nivash]

They're doing neither, they only recalled the ambassador. The move appears to be largely symbolic

Yeah, it's the diplomatic equivalent of storming out of a party because your friend made a stupid joke about you. It doesn't mean that you're mortal enemies now or even that you're not friends anymore, just that you felt a need to show that you were insulted. Happens all the time. The Saudis recalled their ambassador to Sweden after we had the gall to criticise their human rights record last spring, for instance.

If they announce plans to shut down their embassy all together and only communicate through proxies, like what happened between the US and Iran after the hostage crisis, then we can start talking about a real diplomatic meltdown.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Breaking : Bahrain halts flights from/to Iran.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Breaking : Oman condemns the attacks on the Saudi Embassy and Consulate.

For me this is a holyshit moment, for any one who knows about the region, Oman usually neutral, they don't condemn or agree, to hear them finally say something is surprising.

 

[norinrad]

Breaking : Oman condemns the attacks on the Saudi Embassy and Consulate.

For me this is a holyshit moment, for any one who knows about the region, Oman usually neutral, they don't condemn or agree, to hear them finally say something is surprising.

They were probably under pressure to do so. A certain family are doing all they can to isolate Iran, it's not going to work. Might have in the 80s.

 

[davepoobond]

Saudi Arabia is creating instability to make oil artificially raise in price again. It's funny that a lot of pundits are saying "well Saudi Arabia is our ally and Iran isn't!" When the administration is being neutral on it.

Saudi Arabia doesn't really seem to be acting like one in this instance when they're trying to force the US to pay attention to them where there are 4 different peace talks going on

 

[Dayner_Kurdi]

i don't know if i should feel sad or worry for the next U.S president about this whole "drama"

 

[Fuzzery]

They don't need any excuses to raise the price of oil. They can just do that anyways.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

They don't need any excuses to raise the price of oil. They can just do that anyways.

They can, but it would likely have consequences they want to avoid. The US resuming fracking is likely a huge one. US were pumping like crazy for a while there.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

They were probably under pressure to do so. A certain family are doing all they can to isolate Iran, it's not going to work. Might have in the 80s.

I don't think so, Saudi and Oman relationship are not strong nor weak since Saudi Arabia doesn't that much pressure over Oman otherwise Oman would've assisted them in Yemen.

 

[norinrad]

I don't think so, Saudi and Oman relationship are not strong nor weak since Saudi Arabia doesn't that much pressure over Oman otherwise Oman would've assisted them in Yemen.

I think they haven't asked Oman to do so in Yemen. Though the Saudi's don't need Oman's help in destroying Yemen. The have all the weapons oil money could buy for that.

 

[siddx]

Kuwait can never cut ties with Iran, nor can the UAE, and Qatar will always go against the wave of its neighbors

Do you mind if I asked for a source for the Kuwaiti news?

thanks

I wouldn't be so sure. SA has a lot of sway here in Kuwait. A lot of powerful people in the government have close ties with the Saudi's and are constantly pushing to follow in their footsteps. Already there have been several vocal MPs calling for the severing of all ties to Iran.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

BREAKING: Members of 'terrorist cell' linked to Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah arrested in #Bahrain,
Source : Skynews Arabia

And Djibouti sever ties (same source)

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

They can, but it would likely have consequences they want to avoid. The US resuming fracking is likely a huge one. US were pumping like crazy for a while there.

They actually just slashed prices for Europe

 

[GaimeGuy]

Saudi Arabia is creating instability to make oil artificially raise in price again. It's funny that a lot of pundits are saying "well Saudi Arabia is our ally and Iran isn't!" When the administration is being neutral on it.

Saudi Arabia doesn't really seem to be acting like one in this instance when they're trying to force the US to pay attention to them where there are 4 different peace talks going on

If they want to raise prices all they have to do is raise prices or stop flooding the market

 

[GSG Flash]

Dubai International Airport-Knight, please post sources for your "Breaking" yet insignificant news, otherwise you sound like a madman writing "Breaking" everywhere.

They were probably under pressure to do so. A certain family are doing all they can to isolate Iran, it's not going to work. Might have in the 80s.

Yup

Plus they condemned the attack on the embassy, not the government, quite a difference there, and then immediately after offered to mediate between the two nations. Like every other thing DXB has posted, nothing really newsworthy.

Saudi Arabia is creating instability to make oil artificially raise in price again. It's funny that a lot of pundits are saying "well Saudi Arabia is our ally and Iran isn't!" When the administration is being neutral on it.

Saudi Arabia doesn't really seem to be acting like one in this instance when they're trying to force the US to pay attention to them where there are 4 different peace talks going on

Their economy is also going down the shitter:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/05/news/economy/saudi-arabia-oil-budget-gas/index.html

A spat with their greatest rival is a good way to distract the general population from rising gas and water prices.

If they want to raise prices all they have to do is raise prices or stop flooding the market

I think Saudi Arabia's goal is still to price their competitors out of the market. The problem for them is that the riyal is pegged to the strong greenback, so they are not able to drop the value of their currency. They're kinda stuck there because the riyal being tied to the US dollar is paramount to their relations with the US.

 

[norinrad]

Dubai International Airport-Knight, please post sources for your "Breaking" yet insignificant news, otherwise you sound like a madman writing "Breaking" everywhere.



Yup

Plus they condemned the attack on the embassy, not the government, quite a difference there, and then immediately after offered to mediate between the two nations. Like every other thing DXB has posted, nothing really newsworthy.



Their economy is also going down the shitter:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/05/news/economy/saudi-arabia-oil-budget-gas/index.html

A spat with their greatest rival is a good way to distract the general population from rising gas and water prices.



I think Saudi Arabia's goal is still to price their competitors out of the market. The problem for them is that the riyal is pegged to the strong greenback, so they are not able to drop the value of their currency. They're kinda stuck there because the riyal being tied to the US dollar is paramount to their relations with the US.

Not only that they are just trying to hold on to the eventual inevitable. All over the world, governments are investing in renewable energy so they can be less dependent on foreign oil. The Saudi's will have to admit eventually that their way of life is over and at some point the US will most likely change their foreign policies towards them as Iran begins to rise again.

 

[Azih]

Yeah, this raise prices conspiracy theory makes no sense. Saudi is the one who forced oil prices down despite the wishes of every other oil exporting nation.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Iraq wants to mediate the issue between the two.
AL Arab newspaper

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Qatar just summoned their ambassador from Iran and handed the Iranian Ambassador a written protest.

 

[Azih]

So I was talking to my mom about this and she tells me a story about when we were in Saudi Arabia. I was too young for this but apparently there was some sound of an explosion and all the Saudis in the apartment building we were living in ran out shouting "Haza Iran! Haza Iran!" (This is Iran!). She was laughing about it and it's a pretty funny story but highlights the intense paranoia. It's like Cold War America huddling under desks to stave off a Soviet nuke but worse.

 

[vainglorious]

Oil prices are actually predicted to go lower than they currently are. With sanctions on Iran's oil finally being lifted in Europe, Saudi Arabia is attempting to undercut the Iranian's by over producing oil and making it extremely cheap for the European market. Combined with Saudi Arabia choosing it's national interests in its contest with Iran, which is crippling OPEC severely - American oil production has peaked to an all time high. We're currently producing something like 9 million barrels of shale oil a day now. OPEC's no longer what it used to be.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Iranian Diplomats left Saudi Arabia today

 

[TheRealTalker]

Map for events of this current Crisis (Associated Press)

Note the Map isn't as up to date since this is a ever changing story

Bonus Notes: Yemen right now is in a civil war as well as Syria... While Yemen on this map is showcased as part of the Saudi side the actual establishment of the country is not concrete as factions fight each other ( 53% of the Muslim population is Sunni and over 45% is Shia)

Wikipedia Map of Demographics of Yemen

Similarly Syria is shown to be on Irans side but the majority of Syria is Sunni (more then 75%) and not Shia (11%)
Both countries are in proxy conflicts issued by Iran and Saudi Arabia.



Similarly one must note that this is a geopolitical event and some factions regardless if they are Sunni/Shia side with either opposite side or no side at all.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

The Saudi FM is currently in Pakistan discussion terrorism. There might be something coming out of that.

 

[Rubenov]

BBC news reporting Saudi Arabia just bombed Iran's embassy in Yemen, according to Iran.

Edit: Not many details yet. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35251917

In the old days this would mean war.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Iran will ban Saudi products.
Multiple sources.

 

[brian577]

Iran will ban Saudi products.
Multiple sources.

Is this in response to the bombing or unrelated?

 

[Harry Stewart]

And OPEC benchmarks dropped under $30 yesterday.

 

[GasProblem]

Bombing Irans embassy huh. Nice way to de-escelate the situation.

 

[Rubenov]

Don't think anything is gonna come out of that bombing since it seems no one died.

Plus with the current conflict Saudi Arabia can say it was the Yemenis that did it or something, or that it was aiming for rebel positions and accidentally hit the embassy. Kinda like we did with the Chinese embassy in Serbia :O

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Is this in response to the bombing or unrelated?

Unrelated,
The bombing if true will be subjected to examination since the same thing happened to Oman.

Oman embassy was attacked few months ago and blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks, later after investigation it turns out that it was a land rocket in Sanna and the rocket model wasn't from the artillery used by the Arabic Alliance and was similar to the Militias there.
Oman withdrew their objection.

We might be dealing with something similar here.

 

[brian577]

We might be dealing with something similar here.

Considering the current situation, do you really believe that?

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Considering the current situation, do you really believe that?

Yes, what are the odds of Saudi Arabia attacking an embassy just after their embassy being attacked especially after they mentioned the importance of protecting diplomatic rights.
This is too convenient if you ask me and happened once with Oman.

 

[Rubenov]

Yes, what are the odds of Saudi Arabia attacking an embassy just after their embassy being attacked especially after about the importance of protecting diplomatic rights.
This is too convenient if you ask me and happened once with Oman.

Well a couple of days ago the Saudi Embassy in Iran was targeted by protesters, who lit parts of it on fire with Molotov cocktails. This could be a retaliatory, tit-for-tat "fuck you", and due to the whole fog of war in Yemen the facts can be obscured.

 

[brian577]

Yes, what are the odds of Saudi Arabia attacking an embassy just after their embassy being attacked especially after about the importance of protecting diplomatic rights.
This is too convenient if you ask me and happened once with Oman.

Except Oman wasn't embroiled in a diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia at the time. You really think they care about being called hypocrites? Watch their allies who condemned Iran's negligence not say a world. It's too much of a coincidence.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Well a couple of days ago the Saudi Embassy in Iran was targeted by protesters, who lit parts of it on fire with Molotov cocktails. This could be a retaliatory, tit-for-tat "fuck you", and due to the whole fog of war in Yemen the facts can be obscured.

No attacking an embassy at any situation is wrong even during war, Saudi Arabia and their allies are not that stupid especially not after what happened to the Saudi Embassy in Iran because this will surely give Iran a room to attack.

A normal person like me knows that, you would think that a group of countries in the Arabic Alliance filled with advisors wouldn't know that?

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Except Oman wasn't embroiled in a diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia at the time. You really think they care about being called hypocrites? Watch their allies who condemned Iran's negligence not say a world. It's too much of a coincidence.

Yes they were, they were strongly against what is happening in Yemen and they were vocal about it. The asked Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries to stop immediately in the words of Oman's FM.

Houthies are already shealding in multiple abandoned embassies that could've been a target long time ago but we're not targeted by the Arabic Alliance.

 

[Rubenov]

No attacking an embassy at any situation is wrong even during war, Saudi Arabia and their allies are not that stupid especially not after what happened to the Saudi Embassy in Iran because this will surely give Iran a room to attack.

A normal person like me knows that, you would think that a group of countries in the Arabic Alliance filled with advisors wouldn't know that?

They didn't level the embassy, they just lobbed 1-2 rockets at it. Seems they avoided killing anyone. In this part of the world is more about making a statement, and avenging wrongdoings. I know that, I'm sure they have paid advisors that know this as well.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

They didn't level the embassy, they just lobbed 1-2 rockets at it. Seems they avoided killing anyone. In this part of the world is more about making a statement, and avenging wrongdoings. I know that, I'm sure they have paid advisors that know this as well.

What your describing right now is the exact copy of what happened with the Omanian embassy, it got hit but not demolished, the Alliance were able to provide evidence and I think they will also this time especially that according to the Alliance Spokesperson during the Oman situation each country there submitted their embassy location including Iran.

 

[norinrad]

Iran so far has shown a lot of restraint, how ironic that the so called friend of the West is the one being aggressive and going all out.

 

[Azih]

this will surely give Iran a room to attack

I see no reason to believe that Iran is going to attack anything.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

Iran will ban Saudi products.
Multiple sources.

What products?

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Breaking : Somalia sever ties with Iran
AL Arabiya
Also Comoro Islands sever ties with Iran

 

[TheRealTalker]

What products?

pharmaceuticals, perfumes, plastics/rubber, paints, dates, beauty products, fabrics, breads, etc...

and looking at their new economic deals with countries and future factories...

chocolates, manufactured cars, manufactured commercial planes.... (which doesn't mean any of which are sold in Iran)

likely SA and Iran really don't even sell stuff to each other, hence why Iran can just toss this statement so easily.

Breaking : Somalia sever ties with Iran
AL Arabiya
Also Comoro Islands sever ties with Iran

makes sense Somalia tagged along since the GCC is steam rolling a bunch of development/investment projects

it is weird since Iran 3 years ago wanted in on Somalia but failed dramatically in connecting ties.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE

AP reporter in Yemen's capital says he sees no damage at the Iranian Embassy after airstrike: http://apne.ws/1mI3fvk

 

[Shambalakan]

Breaking : Somalia sever ties with Iran
AL Arabiya
Also Comoro Islands sever ties with Iran

After important countries like Djibouti and Somalia, now Comoro Islands?!! Thanks to this situation, I found out a new place on planet earth! they don't even have 1 million people! lol