Is there international action that can be taken now?
It appears increasingly likely that some forms of coordinated international action will be taken, mirroring responses to the global financial crisis, the eurozone debt crisis and the Covid pandemic.
The former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi floated the idea of “a cartel of buyers” at a meeting with the US president, Joe Biden, in May. This would involve large oil consumers working together to negotiate prices.
But so far, it seems there are a few remaining sticking points that are proving fairly difficult to resolve. The main issue of contention between the Iranian and Western camps is an ongoing investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency — the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog — into unexplained traces of uranium found at Iranian facilities in the early 2000s. Tehran wants the investigation closed before they’ll accept any deal; the IAEA and U.S. and European governments are so far refusing.
Energy analysts have been highly skeptical about the integrity of the proposal, however, warning the policy could backfire if key consumers such as China and India are not involved.
Oil prices were higher on the news.