CAIRO: The Iraqi suggestion to use Arab oil as a “weapon” in the Mideast conflict, as was done in the 1970s, has caused many Arab hearts to beat faster. Many believe oil is the only tool that can persuade Washington to force an end to Israeli attacks in Palestinian autonomous regions.
However the Gulf region’s major oil producers - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - have not been persuaded by Baghdad’s call for a total embargo on oil shipments destined for US companies.
Iran, combatant and former arch-enemy of Iraq, is the only oil producer that has declared itself willing to implement the Iraqi suggestion - but only if all Gulf states join in.
For now, that option is not on the cards.
“Arabs need oil more than anything else for their development,” said the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud-al Faisal. It was imperative to continue producing oil and natural gas to maintain a position of strength against Israel, he said.
Kuwait and other countries have decided to reject a boycott. Their argument: A boycott would hurt oil producers more than the United States.
At nearly 27 dollars per barrel, the current price of crude already has raised fears that another oil crisis is imminent.
The oil crisis of 1973 caused shock in consumer countries, when dependence on Arab oil became clear to many people for the first time.
In Germany, for example, the government reacted to gas shortages by banning vehicular traffic on four consecutive Sundays.
Among Arabs, the oil crisis is firmly anchored in memory as an heroic act and a positive example of cooperation among Arab countries.
The Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC), then under the leadership of Saudi Arabia which possessed more than one quarter of known world oil reserves, cut oil exports to the US and many other western countries. Their aim was to pressure the US, which was supplying weapons to Israel in what has become known as the Yom Kippur war.
In the current Mideast crisis, Arab leaders again believe only the US is capable of gaining control over a situation that is going nowhere, and ending the bloodletting.
However the groundswell of Arab nationalism evident during the 1970s, when Saudis and Kuwaitis felt compelled to sacrifice good relations with the West for the Palestinians and a common Arab cause, is long gone.
At the moment, it looks like Iraq, which badly needs money from oil exports to import food and medicine, can only make good on its boycott if at least Iran joins in.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Charrasi on Tuesday said oil could be a “very effective weapon” in the struggle between Israel and Palestine. Nonetheless, Iranians see little sense in foregoing most of their oil revenues only to see Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states increase production quotas to take up the slack.—dpa