Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (RDS.A), BP plc (ADR) (BP): This Hot Spot Could Catapult Oil Prices

On that basis alone, the two “I” countries strongly desire a preservation of the Assad government. Indeed, in a recent article in Foreign Policy, Ramzy Mardini of The Jamestown Foundation noted that Iraq’s Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is especially concerned about an overthrow of Assad by Syria’s Sunni opposition. A major reason: fear that a new Sunni leadership there could join up with his own Sunni opposition to precipitate the removal of Iraqi Shiites from power.

For now, however, he probably finds escalating violence in his own country even more daunting. On Monday of last week, for instance, 95 people died in a series of attacks across the country. That followed the prior Saturday’s deaths of 76 in Baghdad’s Sunni sections. Obviously, both of those atrocities occurred after April, which was the bloodiest month in Iraq during the past half-decade. It’ll probably be surpassed by May, however.

A Foolish takeaway

Could all these Middle East events actually lead to a hindrance of the ongoing well remediation program in Iraq, thereby affecting the companies involved? Possibly. In fact, it’s not completely absurd to caution that Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)‘s series of new joint ventures with Rosneft could be thwarted by a significant faceoff over Syria between the U.S. and Russia. What is certain, however, is that events in the area necessitate far closer monitoring by investors than is possible through mere attention to our mainstream media.

The article This Hot Spot Could Catapult Oil Prices originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by David Smith.

Fool contributor David Smith owns shares of BP. The Motley Fool recommends National Oilwell Varco and Halliburton and owns shares of National Oilwell Varco.

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