Editorial | UN must push for peace as war clouds gather over Iran

The desire to control oil and gas assets is often the reason for instability in energy-rich parts of the world. American accusations that Iran is behind attacks on Saudi Arabia’s most important processing facility and President Donald Trump’s suggestion that his country is ready to respond militarily should the claim be verified has caused understandable international alarm. Tensions have long been rife in the Middle East, which has the largest reserves, with armed conflicts raging in Syria and Yemen, and Tehran blamed for being the source of regional unrest. As has been repeatedly shown, diplomacy, not war, is the only sensible way to settle disputes.

Few details of the attacks by drones and missiles last Saturday on the Abqaiq processing plant and Khurais oilfield have been released by the Saudi energy firm Aramco. But the blazes led to the nation, the world’s largest crude exporter, to announce a halving of daily production by about 5.7 million barrels, equivalent to more than 5 per cent of global oil supplies. Authorities contend there will be limited interruption with inventories filling the void and production resuming by the end of the month. Global oil markets were rocked, with the price of crude at one point rising 20 per cent to US$71.95.

Trump said the United States was “locked and loaded” and waiting for Saudi Arabia’s confirmation of who was behind the strikes. Senior US officials have told American media the attacks came from sites in southern Iran, an allegation Tehran has denied. Houthi rebels, backed by Iran and fighting a Saudi-led coalition in neighbouring Yemen, claimed responsibility, but their previous strikes on Saudi soil used weapons with a significantly smaller range. Pro-Iranian groups in Iraq could also have been involved.

Saudi Arabia and the US are unswerving enemies of Iran and have repeatedly accused it of being behind conflict in the region. The Trump administration has blamed Tehran for mining oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman while Tehran shot down a US military surveillance drone, almost sparking a retaliatory strike. The sides have been at loggerheads since May last year, when Trump reimposed economic and diplomatic sanctions after withdrawing from a multilateral agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Political hawks in the US and Iran could too easily push their nations into an unwanted conflict, worsening instability in the Middle East and putting global energy supplies at risk.

Trump recently sacked his national security adviser, John Bolton, a proponent of regime change in Iran. But that does not mean he opposes military action. The international community has to prevent conflict; the United Nations General Assembly this week is an opportunity to push for dialogue and peace.