BY Bunmi Aduloju
Iran has proposed an oil embargo on Israel in retaliation to the country’s military action in Gaza, which has become the battleground in the Israel and Hamas war.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast at a Gaza City hospital that Israeli and Palestinian officials blamed on each other.
Subsequently, Jordan cancelled a summit it was to host with US President Joe Biden as well as Egyptian and Palestinian leaders.
Biden, on Wednesday, arrived in Israel, to begin a consultation visit on the spiralling Gaza war.
Iran said Israeli ambassadors should be expelled from nations under the umbrella body of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and an oil embargo be imposed on the country, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday.
The OIC has 11 members in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): Nigeria, Qatar, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Congo, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
But an OPEC source said the oil-producing organisation is not a political group, while another source said the geopolitical environment is different compared to 50 years ago.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also took the same stance, saying it would not use oil as a weapon.
Jasem al-Budaiwi, GCC secretary-general, said: “The GCC works as a clear and honest partner as an oil exporter with the international community and we can’t use that as a weapon in any way possible.”
Israel contributes to the oil market, as the country owns two refineries that produce 300,000 barrels per day.
Brent crude oil price hit $91 a barrel on Wednesday — the highest in October — amid the escalating crisis in the Middle East threatening to disrupt oil supplies from the region.
West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $88.11 per barrel.
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