Iran to close Strait of Hormuz?

[jimnyc]

Do you guys think they'll follow through with the threat? And if so, what will be the reaction of the international community?

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A member of the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee said on Monday that the military was set to practice its ability to close the Gulf to shipping at the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil transit channel in the world, but there was no official confirmation.

The legislator, Parviz Sarvari, told the student news agency ISNA: "Soon we will hold a military maneuver on how to close the Strait of Hormuz. If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure."

Contacted by Reuters, a spokesman for the Iranian military declined to comment.

Iran's energy minister told Al Jazeera television last month that Tehran could use oil as a political tool in the event of any future conflict over its nuclear program.

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-army-decl...132115297.html

[fj1200]

Do you guys think they'll follow through with the threat? And if so, what will be the reaction of the international community?

Depends on how many US/British/French carriers are cruising around there.

[jimnyc]

Depends on how many US/British/French carriers are cruising around there.

Some, and especially Iran, would see a buildup of warships in the area to be a provocative action. Do you think Obama has the nads to put us on the edge of another war?

[fj1200]

^As provocative as closing the straits? I'm not sure what kind of buildup could happen in 6 days other than what's already in the area.

[Gaffer]

Others will take action while the dark one is vacationing in Hawaii. My bet is if something goes down he won't even go back to washington.

[Dilloduck]

Surely our allies in the mideast can handle this one for us.

[avatar4321]

Others will take action while the dark one is vacationing in Hawaii. My bet is if something goes down he won't even go back to washington.

I heard he canceled his vacation after he got all that guff for it.

[Thunderknuckles]

This is not the first time they threatened closing the straight. In fact, they actually tried it in the late 80s during their conflict with Iraq. It was not very successful, especially after the US actively intervened. Near the end of Bush's term they threatened to close it but our response was basically that we will consider it an act of war. With a few naval battle groups sitting nearby conducting "training exercises", they thought better of following through with the threat. The international community has already shown they will act if Iran actually does this. Even the Japanese went into offensive mode the last time. So, if Obama doesn't have the stones to stand up to Iran it will be another excellent opportunity for him to "lead from behind"

[revelarts]

... Bloomberg

China Gets Cheaper Iran Oil as U.S. Pays Tab for Hormuz Patrols

January 23, 2012, 12:15 AM EST


<cite>By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan and Gopal Ratnam</cite>
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- China stands to be the biggest beneficiary of U.S. and European plans for sanctions on Iran’s oil sales in an effort to pressure the regime to abandon its nuclear program.
..... While China has voted for four rounds of United Nations sanctions on Iran, China’s leaders have criticized efforts to expand U.S. and European sanctions unilaterally. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said a congressional measure signed into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 31 to penalize Iran’s central bank and block payments for its petroleum exports elevates U.S. law above international norms.
China is the biggest refiner of Iranian crude, buying 22 percent of Iran’s oil exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“Iran is one of China’s biggest petroleum suppliers,” Zhai said at a Jan. 11 briefing in Beijing. “China hopes that petroleum imports won’t be affected, as petroleum is needed for China’s development and for ensuring the needs of its people.”
China is seeking to diversify its Middle East oil sources. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao embarks Jan. 14 on a six-day trip to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Hedging Its Bets
During Wen’s visit, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, and Saudi Arabian Oil Co. will sign an agreement for a proposed refinery at Yanbu on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, the Saudi state-oil company said in an e-mailed statement Jan. 8. Sinopec has agreed to a 37.5 percent stake in Aramco’s planned 400,000 barrel-a-day fuel-processing plant.
Even if it diversifies sources of oil, China is unlikely to sever commercial ties to Iran, said Willy Wo-Lap Lam, an adjunct professor of history at the Chinese University in Hong Kong.
“It has been a long-standing policy of Beijing’s to undermine U.S. influence in the Middle East even as the Obama administration is shifting its diplomatic and military pivot to the Asia-Pacific,” Lam said in an e-mail. “There is no possibility that Beijing will curtail its oil imports from Iran, which is seen by Beijing as a major ally.”
Instead, China’s oil executives are expected to demand lower prices for Iranian crude, said Mark Dubowitz, director of the Iran Energy Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an advocacy group in Washington....

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...z-patrols.html