WHICH COUNTRY IS ALREADY THE WINNER OF THE GULF WAR? - Filenews 28/3
The British newspaper Daily Telegraph supports the US and Israeli war effort against Iran, but its chief economic columnist, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, analyzes the economic impact of the war in a way that is not at all encouraging for the Western camp.
Citing the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, which remains closed, Evans-Pritchard points out that the only ships crossing it are Iranian tankers or cargo moving at the behest of Iran, mainly to China and India. Iran continues its guerrilla war of attrition, while the world is deprived of 14 million barrels of crude oil and refined products every day.
Donald Trump's decision to exempt quantities of Iranian and Russian oil from sanctions does not offer a solution to the energy crisis, as most of the barrels in transit were already part of the normal global supply.
As Evans-Pritchard notes, sanctions waivers have been an unexpected gain for enemies of the West, with Russia selling its crude oil to Asia at a higher price than Brent, and the same is true for Iran. Oil prices for countries such as Oman and Dubai continue to be extremely high, giving a warning signal for the future, particularly for Europe.
China, according to Evans-Pritchard, has already won the biggest prize from this war, while the West is facing serious failures in strategy and diplomacy. China can maintain control over energy prices, having secured a huge supply of oil and gas, while at the same time enjoying support from Russia and other producers, while the West, and especially the US, faces ever-increasing uncertainty and strategic setbacks.
Xi Jinping is profiting from the weakness of the West, while China is gaining geopolitical strength, using the global energy crisis to its advantage. At the same time, the US and its allies are paying the price of a lack of strategy, as the Gulf War and sanctions against Iran and Russia cause a radical rearrangement of the global energy market.
