It appears that there is yet another battle brewing in the Middle East and it is over oil. The situation this time around is with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz most specifically. For some background information, the Strait of Hormuz is the long narrow passage that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. The focus of this article is that this specific strait is the channel that transports over 17 million barrels of the oil that is produced in the Middle East. It is being threatened by Iran to be blocked because of these prior actions. The article states that the European Union placed an embargo on all Iranian oil imports. As for the U.S., President Barack Obama signed a bill on December 31st “imposing new sanctions on Iran under the National Defense Authorization Act.
It is explained that the reason for such actions was all because of Iran’s pursuit as well as possession of nuclear weapons. It has been stated that Iran is developing these nuclear creations for “peaceful purposes only.” The U.S. likes to believe otherwise. I agree and would have to side with the decisions the European Union as well as the U.S. has made. If there is a country that possess as a potential threat, their main source of strength in their economy is of countries such as the U.S., Europe and the like to not purchase oil from them. It clearly will make them stronger and will be a route of direct funding to their further developments on nuclear projects that could affect us at a later date.
However, putting these pressures and limitations on Iran is causing them to threaten to put barriers along the straits so that oil from other countries as well will not even be able to go through as well. The article informs us that because of the tensions running high, there has been a USS aircraft carrier currently in the Persian Gulf with British and French Naval forces to closely monitor and remedy the situation, should it occur. A point is clearly proven in the article that the world is realizing how important peace is in the Persian Gulf since the world is pretty much driven by oil. I believe it is unfortunate how some seek to destroy and put their interest above those of the greater good. It could be on of the many reasons why gas prices have been on a slow rise here in the United States due to all this tension in the Middle East.
Article was found on oilprices.net