The problem then becomes Russia is aligned with Iran and Saudi Arabia is aligned with the U.S. Europe, Israel, Canada, Australia, and likely New Zealand and others. So, if this war breaks out you are likely going to see missiles destroying all oil tankers in the middle East. This might make Russia happy because it will cause oil prices to double and triple. However, for most of the world this would lead to the starvation of millions and potentially billions of people the longer this lasted.
Food prices are partly based upon what gas or diesel costs to transport food to people. So, when prices are too high people then starve in all 3rd world nations and in all nations to some degree.
WASHINGTON
— Saudi Arabia's order for its citizens to evacuate Lebanon is the
latest ominous signal in an escalating confrontation between the Middle
East's …
Saudi Arabia and Iran Battle for Power in the Middle East
byVivian Salama
WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia's order for its
citizens to evacuate Lebanon is the latest ominous signal in an
escalating confrontation between the Middle East's chief regional
rivals, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The two nations have long fought proxy wars
against each other, but many fear that the newly empowered Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is looking to assert Saudi Arabia's regional
dominance at any cost. The conflict heated up last year when Saudi
Arabia executed a Shiite cleric and then severed diplomatic ties with
Iran.
Now the Saudis are publicly airing their
disapproval with Iran's chief foreign affiliate, Hezbollah, which has
significant representation in Lebanon's parliament and has asserted its
influence in neighboring Syria.
Portraits
of Iranian-born Lebanese cleric Musa al-Sadr, top left, Iran's Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top right, and Hezbollah leader Hasan
Nasrallah hang outside a mosque in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar
Sir on Nov. 5, 2017. Mahmoud Zayyat / AFP - Getty Images
Experts, however, don't think a regional
conflagration is imminent. "The Saudis have always thought the wrong
solution for their problem with Iran and now their hope is the Trump
administration will come in and tilt the balance in their favor," said
Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at Crisis Group. "It's unlikely to
change Iran's regional policy — Iran will continue to support its allies
and proxies in the region — but it's unlikely to result in a major
conflict."
Even if the conflict doesn't boil over, there
is plenty at stake for the U.S. and the world in the battle between the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. There's the
price of oil, which rises during crises — an ironic benefit to the
belligerents, who have some of the world's largest oil reserves — and
there's the regional balance of power.
Who's in Charge Here?
The Trump administration has already chosen sides. It's backing the Saudi program of change, and doing what it can to undermine the Obama administration's nuclear deal
with Iran. Trump dubbed the Iranian government a "fanatical regime" and
warned of a "sinister vision for the future." His rhetoric was music to
the ears of Arab officials, in Riyadh and around the Gulf, who had
viewed the Obama administration as complacent toward their longtime foe
and neighbor to the East.
Massive government shakeup rocks Saudi Arabia2:21
Many of Washington and Riyadh's issues with
Iran are really guilt-by-association. Lebanon's Hezbollah, increasingly a
leading political force in the country, receives financial and
logistical support from Iran and also supports militant Shiite groups in
Yemen and Iraq.
The U.S. wants to contain Hezbollah's militant
faction, which it and its Arab League partners have dubbed a terrorist
organization. Once lauded in the Arab world as a heroic resistance
movement that stood up to Israel, Hezbollah has seen its popularity
plummet among Sunni Muslims because of its staunch support for Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad.
But efforts to root out Hezbollah have been
complicated by its formal role in the Lebanese government and effective
control over the country's south. Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad
al-Hariri abruptly resigned last weekend while in Riyadh, saying that
his life was in danger. He said Hezbollah has created a "state within a
state" in Lebanon and was holding the country hostage, and that Iran was
meddling in Arab affairs.
Saudi
King Salman, right, meets with outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad
Hariri in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. Hariri's
resignation in a televised statement from Saudi Arabia on Saturday
stunned Lebanon and plunged the tiny nation into uncertainty. In his
resignation, Hariri accused Shiite power Iran of meddling in Arab
affairs and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant Hezbollah group of holding
Lebanon hostage. Saudi Press Agency / via AP
Tensions reached a new level this week when both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain ordered their citizens to leave Lebanon.
The U.S. also shares the Saudi regime's goals
for the Arabian peninsula. It wants to defeat the Sunni terror groups in
Yemen –al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group's most
potent affiliate, and an emerging ISIS presence. Both the U.S. and the
Saudis want to contain the country's Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have
growing influence in the country.
The Saudis began striking the Houthis in 2014.
However, unlike the U.S., which uses precision technology for its
strikes against al-Qaeda, the Saudi campaign has been anything but
discrete, devastating the country and plunging it into a deep
humanitarian disaster. Its war against the Houthis has made the Saudis
even more unpopular inside Yemen than they already were — and cost the
Saudi treasury a fortune.
People
watch Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's speech following Lebanese
Prime Minister Saad Hariri's resignation, on a screen at a cafe in
Beirut on Nov. 5, 2017 Wael Hamzeh / EPA
The U.S. is not the only would-be power broker
consulting with the new Saudi leadership team. French President
Emmanuel Macron arrived Thursday in Riyadh for meetings amid the rising
regional tensions. And the Saudis have hedged their bets, meeting with
Russia's energy minister in Riyadh this week and with Vladimir Putin in
Moscow last month.
Still, the synergy between the Trump administration
and the reconfigured Saudi leadership has observers worried whether it
will fan the flames. "The U.S.-Saudi convergence of policies very
concerning," said Rami Khoury, a professor of Middle East politics at
the American University in Beirut. "They've been brought together by
four or five policy aims: protect Israel, beat back the terrorists, push
back Iran and Hezbollah, keep the oil flowing, and promote business
deals all under the umbrella of autocratic Arab leaders."
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