Iraq threatened to leave OPEC on June 25, the same day an IRGC drone struck a cargo vessel in Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has lost the ability to punish defection. June 26, 2026 DHAHRAN — Iraq’s Oil Ministry threatened on June 25 to withdraw from OPEC if its quota demands are not met — a warning issued on the same day an IRGC drone struck a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel exiting the Strait of Hormuz and the IMO paused its vessel evacuation corridor. The timing was coincidental; the structural collision is not. Saudi Arabia has enforced OPEC discipline for decades with one … Continue reading Baghdad Called OPEC’s Bluff on the Worst Possible Day