NIAC’s Statement on President Trump’s Tweet Concerning Attack on Saudi Oil Facilities
“If Trump fails to heed his anti-interventionist instincts and listens to the warmongers surrounding him, the U.S. risks triggering a regional war more catastrophic than the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Cooler heads must prevail and invest seriously in deescalatory measures to stabilize the whole region.”Even before the facts have become clear, President Trump tweeted that he is prepared to launch military strikes pending Saudi verification of the perpetrators. The U.S. is not obligated to fight Saudi Arabia’s wars and we urge Trump to discard his repeated willingness to cede U.S. policy to other nations and instead fulfill his self-professed aim to put America’s interests first.
Could More Sanctions Roil Energy Markets?
Could the collapse of Iran nuclear negotiations cause havoc at the gas pump this summer?
While negotiators from the P5+1 and Iran are meeting this week for a final marathon session to see if a comprehensive solution can be reached as to Iran’s nuclear program, a perfect storm could await world energy markets if the talks fail to produce a deal.
Iran News Roundup: August 13, 2012
Iran earthquakes: Tehran criticized for response to disaster Iran Moves to Distribute Aid After Two Earthquakes Kill 307 Iran raises toll from Saturday’s earthquake to 306 dead, over 3,000 injured Israeli Minister Asks Nations to Say Iran Talks Have Failed Revised gov’t protocol gives PM unprecedented powers Nuclear ruse: Posing as toymaker, Chinese merchant allegedly […]
Iran News Roundup: June 29, 2012
Shorter Range Missiles in the Persian Gulf In an apparent escalation in Iran’s standoff with the West, a Revolutionary Guards commander was quoted as saying Iran expects to equip its ships in the Strait of Hormuz with shorter-range missiles (Reuters 6/29). Dubai’s ENOC Affected by State Department Clarification U.S. State Department officials have clarified that […]
Iran News Roundup: June 22, 2012
Clinton: Iranian Hardliners Believe An Attack Would Boost Regime In an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that although hardliners in Iran are split between two schools of thought, there are those who think, “‘The best thing that could happen to us is be attacked by somebody. Just bring it […]
Iran News Update: June 20, 2012
Israeli Action Led to Virus’s Detection A joint product of U.S. and Israeli intelligence, the Flame computer virus was discovered last month after Israel unilaterally launched a cyberattack on Iran’s oil industry that caught the U.S. “off guard,” according to several US and Western officials (Washington Post 6/19). Reflecting on Moscow Talks A senior U.S. […]
Iran News Roundup: June 15, 2012
Tightening Oil Trade OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badry has announced oil prices could elevate to $110 without putting the global economy in jeopardy (AP 6/15). He said, “$110 is not a threat to the world economic growth,” after OPEC leader agreed yesterday to keep OPEC’s total output ceiling at 30 million barrels a day (AP […]
Iran News Roundup: June 13, 2012
IEA: Iran’s Oil Exports Fall 40% The International Energy Agency reported Iran’s oil exports have fallen approximately 40% since the start of the year, from 2.5 million barrels a day to 1.5 million barrels per day, as a result of sanctions (Chicago Tribune 6/13). Reuters estimates Iran has lost $35 billion in oil revenue this […]
Iran News Round Up: June 11, 2012
Recap from Last Week: After IAEA inspectors and Iranian negotiators failed to reach an agreement in Vienna last week, doubts have surfaced that suggest that talks between the P5+1 and Iran scheduled for next week might fall through. (ABC News 6/10/12) An Iranian negotiator stated Sunday that the talks could stall as a result of […]
Iran New Round-Up: June 8, 2012
IAEA and Iran fail to reach a deal ahead of political talks in Moscow, Where U.S. May “Go Big” The United Nations nuclear watchdog has been working to broker an action plan to provide access to restricted sites, namely the Parchin facility, where there are suspicions Iran conducted conventional high-explosive tests ten years ago that […]
Iran News Roundup 2/10
Amidst increased sanctions, Asian powers push negotiation The Foreign Ministry of China has said it would send an Assistant Foreign Minister to Iran to “have a further exchange of views with Iran over its nuclear program,” amidst sanctions that are affecting trade. China has already sought discounts on Iranian oil and cut purchases this year […]
Can Emirati oil crowd Iran out of China?
The United Arab Emirates, “in a step coordinated with Washington,” recently agreed to increase oil exports to China from the current 50,000 barrels per day to 150,000-200,000, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The move is viewed as an Obama administration strategy to reduce Beijing’s reliance on Iran to meet its growing energy needs. It […]