[Jerwittdergut]

Now this makes me really nervous .. fifth fleet is already present ..

The USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier is seen as it allegedly went "inside the manoeuvre zone" where Iranian ships are conducting 10 days of wargames in the Gulf, accoridng to Iranian officials.




The Iranian exercise is taking place in international waters near the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for one-sixth of the world’s oil supply.

Beyond it lie vast bodies of water, including the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet is also active in the area, as are warships of several other countries that patrol for pirates there.


Dangerous mix: Iranian oil and U.S. sanctions - CNN.com

Iran says it recorded video of US aircraft carrier | World | DAWN.COM

Iran has threatened that it will retaliate against the Obama administration's proposed new economic sanctions on Iran's oil exports by blocking the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. "If sanctions are adopted against Iranian oil," said Iran's Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz," the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, which one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes through daily.


Oil rises on shortcovering as market eyes Iran | Reuters

[neguoogleX]

Iran has a clever strategy and has driven up the price of one of its resources.

[Jerwittdergut]

thats some good news :
,
Iran has proposed a new round of talks on its controversial nuclear program while apparently delaying long-range missiles tests that it had said would take place Saturday.

Iran Proposes Nuclear Talks, Delays Missile Test | Middle East | English

Since the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, the geo-strategic situation has changed in this region. The government in Iraq was increasingly in Iran.Both in Syria and in Lebanon and in Bahrain the influence of Shiite Iran has increased. The rulers of Iran, whose population is 90 percent Shiite, encourage this development.

[Zoxeeoy]

thats some good news :
,
Iran has proposed a new round of talks on its controversial nuclear program while apparently delaying long-range missiles tests that it had said would take place Saturday.

Iran Proposes Nuclear Talks, Delays Missile Test | Middle East | English

Since the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, the geo-strategic situation has changed in this region. The government in Iraq was increasingly in Iran.Both in Syria and in Lebanon and in Bahrain the influence of Shiite Iran has increased. The rulers of Iran, whose population is 90 percent Shiite, encourage this development.

The Iranians are getting a bit desperate. They know these most recent sanctions are going to do real damage if they pass. They are blustering, going a little North Korean. Perhaps as a prelude to negotiations. There is also a major power struggle going on in the country.

I think the Iranians could maybe block the straight for a few hours at most. It would also provide us with all the necessary coverage if we wanted to strike at their Nuke program more blatantly then we are already doing.

[neguoogleX]

The Iranians are getting a bit desperate. They know these most recent sanctions are going to do real damage if they pass. They are blustering, going a little North Korean. Perhaps as a prelude to negotiations. There is also a major power struggle going on in the country.

I think the Iranians could maybe block the straight for a few hours at most. It would also provide us with all the necessary coverage if we wanted to strike at their Nuke program more blatantly then we are already doing.

...and drive up the price of oil and slow or stop the US recovery.

[Jerwittdergut]

Santorum is using this issue to boost his elections ..dangerous ..


Santorum Says He Would Threaten Air Strikes Against Iran - Businessweek

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said he would use air strikes against Iran unless the country dismantled its nuclear program or allowed inspectors to verify that the work isn’t aimed at making a weapon.

“I would be saying to the Iranis, you either open up those facilities, you begin to dismantle them and make them available to inspectors, or we will degrade those facilities through air strikes,” Santorum said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program today. “Iran will not get a nuclear weapon under my watch.”

[Zoxeeoy]

...and drive up the price of oil and slow or stop the US recovery.

No worse then Libya did.

[Jerwittdergut]

good to know they are well prepared !! JSOTF-GCC’

New U.S. Commando Team Operating Near Iran

JSOTF-GCC | Danger Room | Wired.com

Danger Room has confirmed with the U.S. Special Operations Command that a new elite commando team is operating in the region. The primary, day-to-day mission of the team, known as Joint Special Operations Task Force-Gulf Cooperation Council, is to mentor military units belonging to the U.S.’ oil-rich Arab allies, who collectively are known as the Gulf Cooperation Council. Those Arab states consider Iran to be their primary foreign threat.

The task force provides “highly trained personnel that excel in uncertain environments,” Maj. Rob Bockholt, a spokesman for special-operations forces in the Mideast, tells Danger Room, and “seeks to confront irregular threats.” The U.S. military has not previously acknowledged the existence of the team, known as JSOTF-GCC for short.

The unit began its existence in mid-2009 — around the time that the Iranian leadership rejected President Obama’s offer of a new diplomatic dialogue and underwent a serious internal challenge to its legitimacy from Green Movement protesters. But whatever the task force does about Iran — or might do in the future — is a sensitive subject with the military.

[Jerwittdergut]

wow ..I get a shiver when I see those ships !! so stennis and lincoln are in now..this is serious ..

[neguoogleX]

No worse then Libya did.

Couldn't be worse? Could be just as bad? Do you have a crystal ball?

Well, maybe the country with the largest known oil reserves could help us. That would be Venezuela.

[neguoogleX]

Santorum is using this issue to boost his elections ..dangerous ..

I don't think Pres. Obama has ruled out air strikes.

[Viafdrear]

The Iranians are getting a bit desperate. They know these most recent sanctions are going to do real damage if they pass. They are blustering, going a little North Korean. Perhaps as a prelude to negotiations. There is also a major power struggle going on in the country.

I think the Iranians could maybe block the straight for a few hours at most. It would also provide us with all the necessary coverage if we wanted to strike at their Nuke program more blatantly then we are already doing.

Why should we strike at their Nuke program?

[Viafdrear]

...and drive up the price of oil and slow or stop the US recovery.

What US recovery?

[Viafdrear]

Santorum is using this issue to boost his elections ..dangerous ..


Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said he would use air strikes against Iran unless the country dismantled its nuclear program or allowed inspectors to verify that the work isn’t aimed at making a weapon.

“I would be saying to the Iranis, you either open up those facilities, you begin to dismantle them and make them available to inspectors, or we will degrade those facilities through air strikes,” Santorum said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program today. “Iran will not get a nuclear weapon under my watch.”

If the Iranians are smart they would continue to give a big F U to America

[Viafdrear]

I don't think Pres. Obama has ruled out air strikes.

Of course he hasn't b/ he treats our armed forces as his personal war machine.

How has his foreign policy differed from Bush?

[Zoxeeoy]

Couldn't be worse? Could be just as bad? Do you have a crystal ball?

Well, maybe the country with the largest known oil reserves could help us. That would be Venezuela.

Because the Iranians won't be able to pull this off for very long. Saudi Arabia also said they would increase production to offset any disruption.

[Jerwittdergut]

Iranian boats shadow US aircraft carrier in Gulf - Boston.com

US-Iranian tensions have worsened in recent weeks amid Western moves to tighten sanctions on the Iranian regime over its nuclear programme and a series of incidents.

These include the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist, a death sentence handed down against an American-Iranian former Marine accused of spying for the CIA, and the Iran's capture last month of what it said was a CIA drone.

Iran has responded to western threats of an oil embargo by warning it will close the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for 20 per cent of the world's oil at the entrance to the Gulf — in retaliation.

Iran threatens to cut some oil exports to Europe, touts nuclear advances

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...WFR_story.html

[Zaxsdcxs]

I heard this weekend gas prices will really jump. What is the significance of this weekend??

[Jerwittdergut]

Fear of Iran is inflating gas prices - Feb. 23, 2012

yup...really suks ..

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Tensions with Iran are adding at least 30 cents to a gallon of gasoline in the United States, and experts say gas prices have only just begun to rise.

Gasoline prices have surged over 10% in the last two months, largely tracking the runup in oil prices, which have increased by a similar amount and are now at a 9-month high.

Kingston noted that OPEC is actually producing more oil right now than is needed to keep pace with global demand. As such, stockpiles are rising.

The fear is that Iran's 2.2 million barrels a day in exports could be cut off. Iranian oil is already being sanctioned, but so far most is still finding its way to market, just at lower prices.

Worse, there's fear the 17 million barrels a day that flow through the Strait of Hormuz, one fifth of the world's total production, could be disrupted by an Israeli attack.

It's thought the Israelis are considering an attack on Iran as a means to disrupt its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but many suspect is intended to produce a bomb.

But if Israel can't be persuaded to hold off an attack, $4 gas will look cheap.

"If Israel does hit Iran, all bets are off," said Mike Fitzpatrick, editor-in-chief of Kilduff Report's Energy Overview. "$150 [oil] is the first marker we'll hit."

[Zaxsdcxs]

Unfortunately, food and everything else transported by the use of gasoline will increase, too.