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| Iran Warns Saudi to Reconsider Vow to Open Oil Taps | |
| 2012-01-18 | |
| [An Nahar] Iran on Tuesday warned Soddy Arabia to reconsider its vow to make up for any shortfall in Iranian oil exports under new sanctions, saying Riyadh's pledge to step into the market was unfriendly. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi issued the warning in an interview with Iran's Arabic language broadcaster al-Alam. "We invite Saudi officials to further reflect and consider" their offer to compensate for curbed Iranian oil exports, Salehi said. He attacked recent comments by Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi saying Saudi oil output could be boosted to by around 2.6 million barrels per day -- the same amount that Iran exports -- and that the world will not permit Iran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz. "These signals are not friendly signals," Salehi said.
Iran has told Soddy Arabia and other oil-producing Arab neighbors that if they step in to compensate for Iranian oil exports cut under looming EU and U.S. sanctions, it "would not consider these actions to be friendly." Tehran's representative to OPEC, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, was quoted as saying on Sunday that those countries "will be held responsible for what happens" if they did so, adding ominously: "One cannot predict the consequences." Iran's political and military leaders have repeatedly said that, if their country is unable to export its oil, they will stop other producers in the Middle East from sending their oil through the Strait of Hormuz, at the entrance to the Gulf. The narrow channel is a chokepoint for more than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil, or 20 percent of the world's total traded oil, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Soddy Arabia is by far the biggest exporter in OPEC, followed by Iran. Relations between the two countries have long been poor, and have become worse in recent months following U.S. allegations that a thwarted plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington was hatched in Tehran. The Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises oil-producers Soddy Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar, have accused Iran of interfering in their internal affairs. Naimi's interview with CNN was recorded on the weekend, before Khatibi made his warning to Iran's neighbors, but after Iran's threats to close the Strait of Hormuz. He said Soddy Arabia was currently producing up to 9.8 million barrels per day, but had "substantial spare capacity" to produce 12.5 million bpd. "I believe we can easily get up to 11.4, 11.8 (million bpd) almost immediately, in a few days. Because all we need is to turn valves. Now to get (the rest) we probably need about 90 days," he said. On the threats over the Strait of Hormuz, Naimi said: "The world cannot stand for that." | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 ION TOPIX > [Fars News = FNA] IRANIAN SUBS SET AMBUSH FOR US AIRCRAFT CARRIERS IN PERSIAN GULF. SSKS = Diesel-electric Mini-subs. Nice to know, but IMO Iran's primary method would be to attack US CVNS + BGS wid wave after wave of cheap BMS + TLCMS, followed by the IRGC's fast speedboats. SEAFORTS, e.g. China's "dual-use" state-owned oil rigs in the South China Sea??? The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow area - the SSKS are better used either in front of the SoH, or espec past the SoH further up the Gulf. IN WAR, THE USN IS UNLIKELY TO SEND ANY CVNS PAST THE SOH UNLESS IRAN'S LAND-BASED ANTI-NAVAL DEFENSES ARE FIRST NULLED OR DESTROYED. IMO the real US-Iran battle front will be the Sea of Oman + peripherals - IRAN WILL NOT CLOSE THE SOH UNLESS IT HAS ALREADY DECIDED TO STRIKE + COMBAT USN FORCES IN THE SEA OF OMAN + OUTER. * ALso from FNA > ANALYSTS CONFIDENT ABOUT [continuing]FAILURES OF US PRESSURES, THREATS AGZ IRAN. The US = aligned won't get any. * SAME > ASSASSINATION OF [nuke] SCIENTISTS SHOW ENEMIES' INABILITY TO BAR IRAN'S PROGRESS, as per Iran Deputy Minister Seyed Javod Sadatinejad. * RUSSIA TODAY > "ATTACK ON IRAN WILL NOT BE AN EASY WALK" - [Russ FM] LAVROV. ARTIC > LAVROV = denotes that Mama Russia fears wave after wave of War Refugees fleeing into the Caucasus + CAR [ex-SSRS], + ultimately pushing agz Russia's southern borders. versus * CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [CSM.com] WHY IS RUSSIA PLANING IRAN WAR GAMES? RUSSIA HAS REPORTEDLY ASKED ITS MILITARY TO PLAN WAR GAMES TO DEAL WID POTENTIAL [REGIONAL] SPILLOVER FROM A US-IRAN CONFLICT. * TOPIX > WEN JIABAO: CHINA SUPPORTS DIPLOMACY TO END US-IRAN STANDOFF, BUT STANDS AGZ IRAN'S DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Nuclear for Civilan/Consumer Energy is A-OK, NUCLEAR WEAPONS = A MIGHTY "HELL NO"! Iran = North Korea + late Kim Jong-il = on their own widout Beijing's support iff they unilater dev NucWeaps. IOW, Tehran cannot count on any support from BFFS Moscow or Beijing iff it ever decides to dev NucWeaps - NUCENERGY FOR RISING IRAN HAS A 000 FATHERS, NUCWEAPS FOR RISING IRAN IS AN ORPHAN. * SAME > MEMBER OF PUBLIC COUNCIL UNDER RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE: "IFF WAR WID IRAN BEGINS, AZERBAIJAN'S MAIN DUTY WILL BE THE [military]PROTECTION OF THE CASPIAN SEA OIL + GAS FIELDS. ARTIC = Azeri purchase of S-300 ADS was out of it + Regional fears that IRAN MAY LAUNCH ATTACKS ON UNFRIENDLY BUT NEUTRAL REGIONAL COUNTRIES IFF A US-ISRAELI-IRAN WAR DOES OCCUR, VEE "SHAHAB-III" LR BMS. * SAME > RUSSIAN EXERCISES IN CAUCASUS PREPPING FOR IRAN WAR? KAVKHAZ-2012 in September. Russia will repor also strengthen its military forces + capabilities in breakaway GEORGIAN regions, TO WHICH GEORGIA PROPER IS ACCUSING MOSCOW OF PLANNING "OFFENSIVE" MILEX TO ATTACK GEORGIA. * SAME > [Russian, Regional] ANALYSTS: RUSSIA FEARS US-IRAN WAR WILL IGNITE [simul? multiple?] CAUCASUS CONFLICTS. --------- There will likely be region-wide "spillover" from a US-Iran war, espec as the Mullahs had said years ago that Iran is not afraid to use the sovereign territories of its neighbors, wid or widout their consent, to wage anti-invasion, Vietnam-War styled, ASYMMETRIC "PEOPLE'S/ GUERILLA WAR" TO FIGHT + DEFEAT ANY US-LED GROUND FORCE INVASION + OCCUPATION OF IRAN. Lest we fergit, the Mullahs also said years ago that iff Iran has its own Nukes-WMDS, or access to same, IT WILL DETONATE 'EM ON IRANIAN SOIL, CITIES + TOWNS ETC., IFF NEED BE TO DEFEAT THE ZIONIST CRUSADER US-WESTERN IMPERIALISTS + ALIGNED. Apparently, Moscow = Mama Russia believes in 2012 that Iran's Mullahs will still stick to their guns. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-01-18 23:31 |
| #2 And that buildup is resulting in tens of thousands of well-paying jobs for Westerners in Saudi Arabia, since the Arabs cannot maintain high tech gear to save their lives. The only reasons the Saudi Air Force is able to fly are two-fold: 1) they keep buying brand new planes; and 2) they pay thousands of Westerners to maintain their aircraft. Without both of those being true, the Saudi Air Force becomes a very expensive collection of lawn darts. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2012-01-18 19:37 |
| #1 With lots of encouragement from Iran, which has tried to destabilize and overthrow the Saud several times now (resulting in decapitated Iranians), the Saud for their part have been actively building up their defenses, preparing to kill Iranians like no tomorrow if they try it on. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2012-01-18 08:37 |