OIL: The Battle of the Barrels Begins

"Traitor!" screamed the Iranian press. "Stooge for capitalism!" The target of that wrath, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani, smoothly replied with just about the worst possible insult in the Islamic world. He implied that the eleven members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, who have announced a two-stage increase of 15% in the world price of oil, v. the 5% increase posted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are playing into the hands of Israel. Said Yamani: "Israel has an interest in higher prices because they push...

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