The United ‌Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Tuesday it quit Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+, Al Jazeera reported. The move deals a heavy blow to the oil exporting groups at a time when the Iran war has caused a historic energy shock and unsettled the global economy. ALSO READ: The US-Iran war’s hidden tax on Rwandans OPEC Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a ‌narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, because of Iranian threats and attacks against vessels. United States President Donald Trump has accused OPEC of “ripping off the rest of the world” by inflating oil prices. Trump has also linked US military support for the Gulf with oil prices, saying that while the US defends OPEC members, they “exploit this by imposing high oil prices”. ALSO READ: How could the US-Israel war on Iran affect Rwanda? The move came after the UAE criticised fellow Arab states for not doing enough to protect it from numerous Iranian attacks during the war. Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser for the UAE president, criticised the Arab and Gulf response to the Iranian attacks in a session at the Gulf Influencers Forum on Monday. “The Gulf Cooperation Council countries supported ‌each other logistically, but politically and militarily, I think their position has been the weakest historically,” Gargash said. “I expect this weak stance from the ‌Arab ‌League and I am not surprised by it, but I haven’t expected it from the [Gulf] Cooperation Council and I am surprised by it,” he said. Formed in 1960 by Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, OPEC has since expanded to 13 members. In 2016, OPEC signed an agreement with 10 other oil-producing countries to create what is now known as OPEC+. Among these 10 countries was the world’s third-largest oil producer in 2022, Russia.
