Iran's Threats Today: "We Will Cut Off The Oil."
In this most dangerous of games, Iran has decided to up the ante a tad by threatening to use oil as a weapon if the United States screws these talks up:
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of the world's fourth largest oil exporter, said on Sunday that if the United States makes a "wrong move" toward Iran, energy flows in the region would be endangered.
Iranian officials have in the past ruled out using oil as a weapon in Iran's nuclear standoff with the West, but Khamenei's comments suggested Iran could disrupt supplies if pushed.
His remarks, which are likely to unsettle wary oil markets, come days before EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is due to deliver a package of incentives agreed by six world powers and designed to persuade Iran to abandon plans to make nuclear fuel.
"If you (the United States) make a wrong move regarding Iran, definitely the energy flow in this region will be seriously endangered," Khamenei, who has the last word in all matters of state, said in a speech which discussed the dispute.
Washington accuses Tehran of seeking to develop atomic weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear power program, a charge Tehran denies.
The United States says it wants a diplomatic solution but has refused to rule out military action.
Washington has offered to join European countries in talks with Iran about the nuclear program, but says Iran must first suspend uranium enrichment. Iran has so far rejected the demand, saying enrichment is a national right.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday Iran would consider the proposals from the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain but also insisted that the crux of the package was unacceptable.
Of course it is unacceptable to President Ahmadinejad. It is not complete capitulation from the West, and it is still a challenge to Iran. But this is the threat that I have been waiting to see come up from them. And again, we are transferred back the debate held here in the beginning of March. In one of our first "Open Topic Sundays" (which quickly went by the wayside as Sabrina got sick from her chemo treatments), her and I discussed this.
The subject was on Iran, and also what would happen if the Straits of Hormuz were shut down. If the Iranians blockaded the Strait, five OPEC nations would not be able to distribute their oil. And, of course, this was all on the heels of the Dubai Ports deal falling through. These talks, which are "designed" to get Iran to quit their enrichment of nuclear materials, will be failures. We will be right back where we are now in six months, or possibly less. It seems that the Iranians are simply playing games until they have a working nuclear weapon.
And while I personally believe that the easiest way to get their attention right now would be to blow up one of their facility sites (possibly more in a focus to remove one element of their program) that is not a feasible option right now. If we do something like that, we just may well force them to send terrorists over the borders into Iraq in waves. President Ahmadinejad did say that there were 40,000 ready to move out on his command, and that is not even counting the basiji suicide troops that he holds sway over.
In this most dangerous game of diplomacy, the United States had better have an alternative plan ready to go just in case "Ahmadine-whack-job" decides to take ulterior steps against us.
The Bunny ;)
In this most dangerous of games, Iran has decided to up the ante a tad by threatening to use oil as a weapon if the United States screws these talks up:
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of the world's fourth largest oil exporter, said on Sunday that if the United States makes a "wrong move" toward Iran, energy flows in the region would be endangered.
Iranian officials have in the past ruled out using oil as a weapon in Iran's nuclear standoff with the West, but Khamenei's comments suggested Iran could disrupt supplies if pushed.
His remarks, which are likely to unsettle wary oil markets, come days before EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is due to deliver a package of incentives agreed by six world powers and designed to persuade Iran to abandon plans to make nuclear fuel.
"If you (the United States) make a wrong move regarding Iran, definitely the energy flow in this region will be seriously endangered," Khamenei, who has the last word in all matters of state, said in a speech which discussed the dispute.
Washington accuses Tehran of seeking to develop atomic weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear power program, a charge Tehran denies.
The United States says it wants a diplomatic solution but has refused to rule out military action.
Washington has offered to join European countries in talks with Iran about the nuclear program, but says Iran must first suspend uranium enrichment. Iran has so far rejected the demand, saying enrichment is a national right.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday Iran would consider the proposals from the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain but also insisted that the crux of the package was unacceptable.
Of course it is unacceptable to President Ahmadinejad. It is not complete capitulation from the West, and it is still a challenge to Iran. But this is the threat that I have been waiting to see come up from them. And again, we are transferred back the debate held here in the beginning of March. In one of our first "Open Topic Sundays" (which quickly went by the wayside as Sabrina got sick from her chemo treatments), her and I discussed this.
The subject was on Iran, and also what would happen if the Straits of Hormuz were shut down. If the Iranians blockaded the Strait, five OPEC nations would not be able to distribute their oil. And, of course, this was all on the heels of the Dubai Ports deal falling through. These talks, which are "designed" to get Iran to quit their enrichment of nuclear materials, will be failures. We will be right back where we are now in six months, or possibly less. It seems that the Iranians are simply playing games until they have a working nuclear weapon.
And while I personally believe that the easiest way to get their attention right now would be to blow up one of their facility sites (possibly more in a focus to remove one element of their program) that is not a feasible option right now. If we do something like that, we just may well force them to send terrorists over the borders into Iraq in waves. President Ahmadinejad did say that there were 40,000 ready to move out on his command, and that is not even counting the basiji suicide troops that he holds sway over.
In this most dangerous game of diplomacy, the United States had better have an alternative plan ready to go just in case "Ahmadine-whack-job" decides to take ulterior steps against us.
The Bunny ;)
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 8:56 AM
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