Nine months ago, things weren’t look good for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.
Four years into his country’s bloody civil war, he found himself fighting a multi-front war against a long list of largely Sunni extremist elements and the government’s forces were stretched thin. The rebels enjoyed the support not only of the US, but of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. That meant that their resources were essentially unlimited.
"It’s a joke. We couldn't wish [for] more than that. If they can do it, then let them do it — but talking militarily, this is not easy for a country already facing defeat in another war, in Yemen, where after almost one year they have failed in achieving any real victory.”
That’s what one source in the Iranian military had to say about reports that Saudi Arabia is preparing to send ground troops into Syria.
Submitted by Arthur Berman via OilPrice.com,
An OPEC production cut is unlikely until U.S. production declines by about another million barrels per day (mmbpd). OPEC won’t cut because it would accomplish nothing beyond a short-term increase in price. Carefully placed comments by OPEC and Russian oil ministers about the possibility of production cuts achieve almost the same price increase as an actual cut.
Bad News About The Oil Over-Supply from IEA and EIA
As you might have heard, the opposition in Syria is in serious trouble.
Last summer, Bashar al-Assad’s army was on the ropes, as the SAA fought a multi-front war against a dizzying array of rebel forces including ISIS. Then Quds commander Qassem Soleimani went to Russia. After that, everything changed.
A gunman has killed at least 6 people in an attack on an education department in southern Saudi Arabia, multiple sources confirm.
The attacker has been arrested. From Arab News:
A teacher armed with an automatic weapon stormed a Ministry of Education office in the southern region of Jazan and shot dead at least six people on Thursday, local media reported.
Three other office staff were injured, online news site 3alyoum.com said, quoting Jazan police.