Syria Envoy: US Stealing Syrian Oil and Gas

Warns UN that oil is needed for reconstruction

Syrian representative Bashar al-Jaafari has delivered remarks to the UN Security Council this week, complaining that the US occupation forces are advancing effort to steal Syrian oil and gas through a business deal reached with Crescent Delta Energy.

That the US is planning to steal Syrian oil is non-controversial, as President Trump has made that position public for months. Crescent Delta Energy is contracted to take the oil, after Trump failed efforts to court larger companies. The deal is that any revenue going to Syria would be given to the Kurdish SDF.

Jaafari noted to the UN that the resources in question after needed for reconstruction after the war. Again this is not in serious dispute, and many see taking the oil as in part meant to assure that Syria can’t reconstruct if the war ends in a way the US does not approve of.

It is unclear if the UN Security Council will attempt to do anything about it, but the US will almost certainly veto, as Trump has made getting the oil the main goal of the war.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.