David Fickling, Columnist

Iran-Saudi Cold War Reaches Japan

Oil geopolitics may torpedo the merger of Idemitsu and Showa Shell.

June 29, 2016 at 5:56 AM UTC

David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change and energy. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Iran's simmering proxy conflict with Saudi Arabia is cropping up all over the place.

Riyadh helped crush an Arab Spring uprising in Shiite-majority Bahrain in 2011, and friction between the two countries has fueled civil wars in Syria and Yemen. Attempts to reignite oil prices earlier this year were thrown into disarray when Iran refused to attend an oil producers' meeting in Doha.