US Website: Bin Salman Retaliating against Biden
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US website The Intercept says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is waving the Saudi gas policy card to take revenge on US President Joe Biden; how is that?
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US President Joe Biden is taking a stance that observers describe as firmer than his predecessor's, Donald Trump, toward Riyadh.
In its headline, The Intercept US website described Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as "a murderous maniac in Riyadh" in reference to the latter's direct involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The website mentioned that bin Salman is trying to take revenge on the Democrats and US President Joe Biden through raising gas prices and increasing global inflation rates,
The site attributes this move to the Democratic Party and Biden's recent stances toward the Kingdom.
It compared Riyadh's compliance with former US President Donald Trump's request years ago to reduce gas prices by increasing production while ignoring Biden's request two months ago to increase production again after the price hike.
In his statements for CNN last month, Biden linked the rise in gas prices in global markets to the lack of supply from Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and added that “there’s a lot of Middle Eastern folks who want to talk to me. I’m not sure I’m going to talk to them.”
Since taking office, Biden has confirmed that he will not communicate with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman due to his direct link with the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October of 2018, according to The Intercept.
The website also indicated that bin Salman refuses to comply with Biden's calls for reducing gas prices because he has not yet met with Biden and due to the US withdrawal from the war on Yemen.
Earlier, Biden mentioned that his administration has the tools to respond to the rising gas prices after OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, rejected the US calls for producers to pump more crude.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the US President may soon take measures to address the sharp rise in oil prices.
It is noteworthy that last Thursday, OPEC +, a group of producers, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other countries rejected the US appeals to bypass a previous plan to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day from December.
The Intercept also touched on the US oil, economic, and foreign policy, as the Biden administration went ahead with a major arms sale to Saudi Arabia required for its war on Yemen, despite facing heavy criticism from US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Agree. Selling weapons to Saudi Arabia while they continue to slaughter Yemenis is unacceptable. If we truly believe in putting human rights at the center of our foreign policy we would not be arming human rights abusers. Working on legislation to stop this sale this week. https://t.co/b0b33Eyasz
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 10, 2021
US President Joe Biden is taking a stance that observers describe as firmer than his predecessor's toward Riyadh with regard to its human rights record and its war on Yemen.
At the beginning of this year, the Biden administration released a CIA report, which pointed fingers at bin Salman in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
In early February, Biden announced the cessation of support for the war on Yemen and stressed "America is back. Diplomacy is back."
The irony is that the war on Yemen continues to rage up to this very day.
