Iran threatens oil in the Straits of Hormuz

Yesterday, Iran threatened to disrupt Persian Gulf oil shipments through the narrow Straits of Hormuz in the event that the West attacked the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons development according to the AFP;

The chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards warned that Iran would use its control of the Strait of Hormuz in response to an attack, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

“It is natural that when a country is attacked it uses all of its capabilities against the enemy, and definitely our control of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz would be one of our actions,” General Mohammad Ali Jafari told the conservative daily Jam-e Jam.

The strait is a vital conduit for energy supplies, with about 20%-25% of the world’s crude oil from Gulf oil producers passing through the waterway.

Now, I’ve been staring at a map of the world and I fail to see how blocking the Straits of Hormuz would disrupt our oil flow from off of our coasts or Alaska. 76% of Americans say we should drill and refine our own fuel – can they be wrong?

Did anyone tell the Islamic Republic that they would be violating our Carter Doctrine? Will Jimmy Carter make that point as forcefully as he did in his State of the Union Address in 1980;

This situation demands careful thought, steady nerves, and resolute action, not only for this year but for many years to come. It demands collective efforts to meet this new threat to security in the Persian Gulf and in Southwest Asia. It demands the participation of all those who rely on oil from the Middle East and who are concerned with global peace and stability. And it demands consultation and close cooperation with countries in the area which might be threatened.

Meeting this challenge will take national will, diplomatic and political wisdom, economic sacrifice, and, of course, military capability. We must call on the best that is in us to preserve the security of this crucial region.

Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.

Probably not – after all, he promised in his “malaise speech” (July 1979) to build refineries and pipelines when we needed them and we haven’t built a refinery since 1977.

Category: Economy, Foreign Policy, Jimmy Carter, Politics, Terror War