Which factor has led to the increasing influence of oil-rich Middle Eastern countries over other nations? A.
decrease in transportation of oil through Suez Canal
B.
oil reserves in other nations getting completely exhausted.
C.
highest consumers of oil are also the highest producers.
D.
highest consumers of oil are not the highest producers.

The highest consumers of oil are not the highest producers.

Explanation:

The oil-rich Middle Eastern countries have gradually been gaining more and more power in global affairs and have had increasing influence over other countries. This is based on the fact that they have among the biggest oil reserves in the world, and oil is the most demanded resource, while many of the countries with big economies don't have or have very little oil on their own.

Except for the USA and Russia, the other big economies don't have oil reserves at all or have very little, thus they are highly dependent on the oil from countries like the Middle Eastern ones. This has brought in enormous amounts of wealth to these countries, but also an ever-growing influence. This leads to a situation where they hold a lot of powerful countries as ''hostages'' because of the dependence on their oil, often meaning that they don't get criticized, condemned, or experience international intervention in their territories despite constantly committing violations of the human rights, often in the most terrible ways. Also, the leaders of these countries tend to buy more and more businesses and property in the countries dependent on them, gradually making a stronghold in their economies.