Iran Seeks to Exploit Unrest In Jordan With Oil Offer

Iran has made economically and financially strangled Jordan a tempting offer: to provide the Jordanian people with free oil for 30 years. Jordan’s oil bill of $2.5 billion a year is one of the biggest drivers of the budget deficit, and oil subsidies have been the heaviest burden on successive governments’ budgets.

However, reducing these subsidies was one of the main reasons for widespread protests and uprisings against the government. Since the start of the Arab Spring, the Jordanian regime has resisted many popular movements, which have been until recently limited to demands to “reform the regime.”

Demands for the regime’s ouster only began after the government was forced to end fuel subsidies. This measure took a toll on vast segments of society, particularly those in the low-income bracket, which is the largest socioeconomic group in the kingdom. This means that the Arab Spring isn’t threatening the status quo in Jordan. However, fuel prices are the factor that raised these threats to such an extraordinary point.

[link to stratrisks.com]