The Glory Days of OPEC Are Long Over, Says Afshin Rattansi (VIDEO)

(SeaPRwire) –   The journalist informed RT that the oil-producing cartel’s geopolitical influence has been in steady decline since the 1970s

According to Afshin Rattansi, host of Going Underground, the United Arab Emirates’ decision to exit OPEC will further diminish the cartel, whose authority has been weakening for years.

The UAE government confirmed its exit on Tuesday, explaining the move is to concentrate on “national interests” and the nation’s “long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile.” This development occurs during instability surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a vital channel for global oil trade that has been mostly shut to shipping since February because of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

In his conversation with RT, Rattansi pointed out that the UAE’s exit is not without precedent, recalling that Qatar, another oil-rich Arab monarchy, left the group in 2019. He contended that the cartel no longer possesses the level of influence it commanded in 1973, when Arab nations imposed an embargo on the US and other countries backing Israel.

“It must be understood that OPEC’s power has decreased. The era of (Saudi oil minister Ahmed Zaki) Yamani and 1973, when the Saudis and OPEC could apply significant geopolitical pressure, is firmly in the past,” Rattansi stated.

“Russia and the United States are the world’s leading oil suppliers,” Rattansi further noted.

He proposed that the UAE might forge closer links with regional alliances like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as the Gulf state has attempted to preserve its autonomy while facing Western demands to sever relations with Russia.

Watch the full interview here: