Yes, Iran Will Use Oil as a Weapon. Next Question?

I'm beginning to think that journalists are some of the world's slowest learners.

Like many thugs, terrorists and tyrants, Iran is a loose cannon.  While it tries to maintain a diplomatic veneer of respectability, the menace beneath is so thick and so deep that it keeps showing all the way through to the surface.

From an AP report:

Iran threatened Saturday to use oil as a weapon if the U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions over its nuclear program.

The nation's interior minister raised the possibility of using Iran's own oil and gas supplies and its position on a vital Persian Gulf oil route as weapons in the international standoff.

"If (they) politicize our nuclear case, we will use any means. We are rich in energy resources. We have control over the biggest and the most sensitive energy route of the world," Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi was quoted as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Iran is the No. 2 producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and has partial control over the narrow Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf. The strait is an essential passage for crude oil from key producers such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.

And here's more:

"No means (for reprisals) will be ignored and we will not disregard any means," said Pourmohammadi, who warned from the sideline of a Tehran city ceremony that Iran's critics could be underestimating his country's ability to strike back if sanctions are imposed.

Seems pretty clear, right?  Everything, including the "energy resources" that Iran is "rich in" -- also known as oil -- will be used as a means for reprisals.

But then the journalist goes on to write:

Some diplomats saw the comments as veiled threats to use oil as a weapon, though Iran's oil minister ruled out any decrease in production.

Veiled threats? 

Only some diplomats?

What would it take for the AP to acknowledge an open threat that everyone can see?

This is almost as bad as the AP's and the mainstream media's constant mindless repetition of Iran's patently absurd claim that it seeks nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes.  If you need any more convincing of the absurdity of that statement, visit All Things Beautiful and my previous posts about Iran collected here.

Comments

[Andrew of Arabia]

I agree with you. Iran would not refrain from using any and all methods at its disposal to inflict "harm and pain" on the United States. Indeed, its position as the number 2 OPEC producer means that it could potentially send countries into recession on the strength of its threats alone. Oil is their most effective weapon, although terrorism is an old standby (like an old friend) and shouldn't be discounted.