Natural Resources Guiding Question How do natural resources influence the lives of people in Southwest Asia?

Natural Resources Main Ideas The most important natural resources of Southwest Asia are oil and natural gas. The world’s largest known deposits of petroleum are in Southwest Asia, mostly around and under the Persian Gulf. Turkey and Iran have large coal deposits; Iraq, Israel, and Syria have phosphates; and Afghanistan has deposits of iron, copper, gold, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements.

Reading Progress Check Natural Resources Reading Progress Check Five countries that border the Persian Gulf hold more than half the oil that has been discovered in the world. Name three of the countries.