After a coalition of oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia agreed with Russia to reduce supply, US President Joe Biden threatened Saudi Arabia with “consequences.”
He made his remark the day after influential Democratic Senator and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez demanded that the US immediately halt all engagement with Saudi Arabia, including military sales.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Biden declined to say which choices he was contemplating.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, said that a policy review will be carried out but provided no timetable for action or details on who would be in charge of the examination.
Over the upcoming weeks and months, she added, the United States will be closely monitoring the situation.
Opec+, which also includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, declared plans for a reduction in oil output were announced last week after US officials lobbied against it for weeks.
Saudi Arabia has been accused by the United States of appeasing Russia, which opposes a restriction on the price of Russian oil imposed by the West as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.
According to Biden, he told the prince in July that he believed he was at fault.
Biden will engage with Congress “to think through what that partnership ought to look like moving ahead,” according to John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokeswoman.
And I believe he will be open to beginning such talks right now. I honestly don’t think this is something that has to or should wait for much longer,” Kirby continued.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, added on Tuesday that Iran, a rival of Saudi Arabia and a US opponent, will not be disregarded in the evaluation.
Saudi Arabia has received a large amount of US weaponry shipments in response to Iran’s regional threat mind.
“There are security challenges, some of which emanate from Iran. Certainly, we won’t take our eye off the threat that Iran poses not only to the region, but in some ways beyond,” Price said.
