Many countries such as the US, France, Great Britain are very concern with Iran and other Middle Eastern countries because they believe that Iran and other middle Eastern countries are creating a nuclear program. Iran denies everything and they said that they are not creating any atomic weapons . They also said that their "program is for a peaceful purpose" but it seems like Iran is done getting picked on by the other countries and are now starting to jack up the prices for oil is as high as $105 for every barrel which is the highest exchange price since May of 2011.
The head of Iran's state oil company Ahmad Qalehbani threatened all the countries it sells oil too to by saying that Iran will stop selling oil to the nations who take action against its nuclear program.
As oil prices keep increasing each month do you think the US should step in and take action? Do you think Iran has the right to increase its oil prices? Do you think their program is for a peaceful purpose?
2 comments:
This may not be as big a problem as some may make out to be. In the past and the present, the ethics of the country where the west gets it oil hasn’t always been a big issue. For example Venezuela supplies about 10% of America’s oil yet their president has been highly critical of America in the past. Nigeria too gives us close to 40% of its oil sales yet their record for poor Human rights including extrajudicial killings doesn’t seem to bother us too much. I therefore believe that Iran’s nuclear ambitions will go unchallenged by countries that rely on it as a source of oil.
I would hesitate to say that Iran is getting picked on, as Iran has failed multiple inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). IAEA reports reveal that Iran has been enriching uranium past what is needed for purposes purely pertaining to energy. Furthermore, an IAEA report in May stated that Iran has developed an atomic trigger made from uranium deuteride, a.k.a. heavy hydrogen. More alarming is the fact that both China and Russia have used heavy hydrogen as material for their own atomic sparkplugs for their weapons, indicating a connection between Iran's program and Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. Khan, a rogue Pakistani engineer, did sell nuclear information to Iran in the past. A more troubling IAEA report, released just this November, suggested that Iran had built a vessel for the purpose of conducting hydrodynamic experiments in an Iranian military site: Parchin (southeast of Tehran). Furthermore, upon the November IAEA inspection, 19.8 kg of natural uranium was nowhere to be found at the Jabr Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Research Laboratory, while records showed otherwise.
Now back to the United States. If we did choose to limit Iran's oil exports in some way, a move that would surely weaken the already tenuous grasp the current regime has over its people, we would anger the international community and possibly create a global oil crisis. While we personally do not rely on Iran for our oil, other countries do, and that negative impact on the world petroleum market could be devastating. Our current policy against Iran is a weak set of sanctions too broad to truly address the nuclear issue. Furthermore, we must remember US ties to Israel in this situation, as Israel is almost entirely sure that Iran will strike them first if Iran acquires a nuclear bomb. And we must also remember that China and Russia have always sided with Iran on these issues, and isolating those two superpowers is in no way in our own economic or diplomatic interest.
Conclusion? There is little the US can do. As Will said, we have a spotty history of receiving oil from countries who knowingly indulge in unethical practices. If we do choose to take action against Iran, it must be diplomatic, as no one desires to see the global petroleum market collapse. And only time will tell if Iran is developing or will develop a nuclear weapon. At their current technological capacity, no weapon will come until at least 2015. But that's not very far away.
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