Al Jaber decries Iran’s arithmetic of extortion

The UAE’s Minister of Everything is taking his case to the world: Sultan Al Jaber, whose current portfolio includes the ministry of industry and advanced technology as well as the flow of money to pay for that industrial transformation (better known as ADNOC), took to X to decry what he calls Iran’s “arithmetic of extortion.”

“Every day the Strait is held hostage, the costs go up … for families, farms,

factories and economies around the world,” he wrote as Brent crude again broke north of USD 100 / bbl. Al Jaber, the UAE’s ace troubleshooter, called Iran’s actions “blackmail” and said the loss from global markets of 1 bn barrels of oil has driven fertilizer prices up 50%, fuel prices up 30%, and airline tickets up 20%.

IN CONTEXT- Gulf politics very often play out on X (extending even to local officials subtweeting national leaders), and Al Jaber’s post is very much a message to the rest of the world that the UAE is running out of patience — its stance is hardening.

The risk here is clear: There have already been claims out there that the UAE had launchedair strikes against Iran earlier in the war. The ceasefire remains on shaky ground — throw in Reuters’ report this morning that Riyadh, too, hit Iran in the war’s early days and the NYT’s report that Iran retains most of its missile sites, launchers, and underground facilities and … where’s that offramp, Messrs. Trump and Netanyahu? –Patrick