Saudi Arabia is reaping a massive oil windfall, making it perhaps the Iran war’s only winner—Tehran’s proxies actually ‘did Saudi a favor’

The headlines have not been good for Saudi Arabia since the Iran war started: GDP has contracted, Iran-backed forces have attacked its oil infrastructure, and the kingdom saw its top rival close the Strait of Hormuz.

On top of that, President Donald Trump reportedly turned down Saudi requests to help fight Houthis threatening Red Sea oil exports, despite the defense pact between the two allies, forcing Riyadh to contemplate a future with less U.S. intervention in a more dangerous environment.

But Saudi Arabia actually stands to generate more oil revenue now than it did before the war started in February, according to Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

That’s because the higher price of crude has more than offset the decline in export volume. Saudi Arabia shipped about 7 million barrels of oil per day before the war, less than 4 million in March and April, then 5.5 million this month, he calculated in a........

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