Why Oil Plays an Enormous Role in Middle East Conflicts

I remember when the Iran-Iraq war was raging in the 1980's and the conflict became so desperate for both sides, during the long war of attrition, that both sides were firing on each other's tankers, and Kuwaiti tankers started coming in the crosshairs of Iranian gunners-causing the US to reflag Kuwaiti tankers as "American"-stating, unequivocally that an attack on Kuwaiti tankers with American flags would be an attack on American interests. The Iranians attacked a reflagged Kuwaiti tanker 'Sea Isle City'.

This pivotal action, and therefore subsequent esclation, led to a short and bloody exchange between Iran and the USA, starting with an attack on Iranian oil platforms in retaliation for the Iranian attack on the US-flagged Kuwaiti tanker. It ended with a US frigate badly damaged by an Iranian mine and a number of Iranian vessels and oil facilities sunk or badly damaged. This was just one example of how oil plays such an enormous role in Middle East conflicts.

Oil always seems to come in play in Middle East conflicts, one way or another, due to the region having two-thirds of the known oil reserves. Even parts of the Middle East with no oil, petroleum has played a huge role. As the 'life-blood' that keeps the world economy running, it was used by the Arab oil-producing states as a very effective weapon in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War-as punishment for countries that were supporting Israel during the war. The embargo led to a deep global recession with crippling energy shortages, inflation as oil prices skyrocketed through shortages and deliberate price hikes as the newly-founded OPEC oil cartel started to flex its muscle. Oil was an effective weapon during that war, accelerating peace moves that finally brought an end to the 1973 war, and a substantial disengagement agreement between Israel and Syrian/Egyptian forces, leading, invariably, to peace between Egypt and Israel.