Nournews: A Politico reporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, has revealed direct efforts by the U.S. administration to leverage the capabilities of Persian Gulf states to influence sentiment in the global oil market and push prices lower ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. The effort has assumed particular importance for the Donald Trump administration amid continued restrictions on tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s refusal to fully reopen the strategic waterway.
According to information provided by the Politico reporter, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent separately contacted the six GCC member states last week and urged them to make every effort to create market sentiment aimed at lowering oil prices. Against this backdrop, Washington welcomed Mohammed bin Zayed’s proposal to hold a joint meeting between the GCC leaders and Donald Trump on Tuesday. According to the same report, bin Zayed proposed that Iraq and Jordan also attend the meeting, which is consistent with reports that the two countries are now expected to participate in the gathering between Trump and Arab leaders.
According to the Politico reporter’s account, bin Zayed stressed to Rubio that Iraq’s participation in the meeting was particularly important and could help move Baghdad further away from Tehran and closer to the GCC. Kuwait is said to have initially opposed Iraq’s participation, but reportedly dropped its objection after Rubio contacted the Kuwaiti emir and took a tough stance on the issue.
The reporter said Washington’s main objective was to mitigate the impact of rising oil and refined-product prices and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz on the U.S. domestic political environment and Trump and the Republican Party’s position ahead of the November midterm elections.
In recent weeks, heightened insecurity along energy routes and a sharp decline in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have increased risk in the oil and refined-products markets. Reuters has reported that only 17 cargo vessels passed through the Strait during the latest week, compared with a pre-war average of about 125 vessels per day.
The situation has also had a direct impact on the U.S. energy market. During the latest wave of hostilities, Brent crude prices climbed above $100 a barrel, while the average U.S. diesel price rose above $5.94 per gallon.
Against this backdrop, Iran’s continued policy toward the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the key variables in the energy market. Tehran continues to condition the full reopening of the strait on the fulfillment of its demands, while reports in recent days indicate that restrictions on vessel traffic remain in place.
The Trump meeting with the Persian Gulf Arab leaders can therefore be viewed, alongside its political and security dimensions, as an effort to manage oil-market expectations and signal increased supply and reduced energy risks. Washington is seeking to use the capacity of the region’s major oil producers to send a message that the market will not face a prolonged supply shortage.
Meanwhile, according to information from the Politico reporter, some GCC leaders, particularly those of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, are deeply dissatisfied with the way Rubio and Bessent have dealt with the issue and believe that regional countries are being left to bear the costs of Washington’s policies.
The Politico reporter said the Kuwaiti emir strongly criticized Mohammed bin Zayed in a conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, accusing him, on the one hand, of becoming an agent for Israeli and Rubio policies in the region and, on the other, of positioning himself as the architect and driving force behind the GCC’s direction.
According to the same account, the Kuwaiti emir expressed concern about the UAE’s regional policies and their implications for Arab unity, specifically pointing to Abu Dhabi’s involvement in Yemen, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Eritrea. Regarding Yemen, he reportedly said that had it not been for the UAE’s involvement, the issue could have been resolved by the “Saudi brothers.”
Washington now faces a dual challenge as the November elections draw closer: continued energy risks and rising oil and refined-product prices on the one hand, and limited effective options for persuading Iran to change its position on the Strait of Hormuz on the other.
From this perspective, Rubio and Bessent’s contacts with the GCC countries and the effort to shape sentiment in the oil market can be seen as an attempt to use one of Washington’s lower-cost remaining tools to contain price expectations. The objective is to bring down oil and refined-product prices ahead of the elections and ease the economic and social pressure that higher energy costs could place on the Trump administration to constrain price expectations. The objective is to bring down oil and refined-product prices ahead of the elections and ease the economic and social pressure that higher energy costs could place on the Trump administration.
Nournews