By DemocracyRules
via IranFocus and Zaman Online
Iran has world's 2nd largest natural gas reserves; Rafsanjani blames everyone else
More evidence that the squeeze is working.
Iran is having an unusually cold winter (global warming), and they have gas shortages. Some Iranian deaths have been reported, and gas has been reduced or cut off in 84 towns.
Rafsanjani, a former president blames: (1) Foreign companies, because they have slowed work in southern gas fields. He might mean Total and Shell, whom the Bush administration has leaned on heavily to divest from Iran. (2) Turkmenistan, which just cut off natural gas to Iran, giving unclear reasons. Rafi bad-mouthed them in his Friday sermon, but he may or may not have actually hurt their feelings. (3) Ahmadinejad, for letting stocks get low (the two don't get along).
Turkey is also upset because Iran is supposed to though-put gas from Turkmenistan, but instead is keeping what they have. Turkey is looking in the long term to get gas from the the Caspian Sea area which is not far from Turkey. The Caspian Sea has huge gas reserves but the five states that rim the area, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Russia and Kazakhstan, are fighting over borders and ownership.
[Update] Ahmadinejad has been forced by the supreme leader to reverse his policy of cutting off gas to some villages. He was ordered to access $1 billion in emergency funds to fix the problem. Some areas of Iran have 22 inches of snow.
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