US: Closing Strait of Hormoz would hurt Iran
Washington, 5 August (IranVNC)—The Pentagon said today that Iran would only be hurting itself if it closed the Strait of Hormoz to export oil as the price for crude continues to fall.
By: IranVNC
Published: Tuesday, August 05, 2008
18:12GMT—2:12PM/EST
OIL – IRAN – PRICES – US
Washington, 5 August (IranVNC)—The Pentagon said today that Iran would only be hurting itself if it closed the Strait of Hormoz to export oil as the price for crude continues to fall.
“Shutting down the Strait, closing down the Persian Gulf, would be sort of a self-defeating exercise,” said Pentagon press secretary, Geoff Morrell. “That doesn’t say anything about whether we tolerate such things to happen.”
Iran threatened to close the Strait if attacked, amid rising international tension over its uranium enrichment program.
Morrell said Iran’s weak economy could not afford the slowdown that the closing Iran’s only route of exporting oil would cause.
Meanwhile, oil prices oil prices are currently listed at below $120 a barrel, and continue to drop worldwide, according to AFP. However, some have suggested the dropping prices suggest a US recession is imminent.
“There is no doubt that with gasoline prices dipping below $3.90 a gallon we have a bit of a reprieve on the energy front,” Merill Lynch economist David Rosenberg wrote in a report yesterday according to Fortune Magazine. “But the reality is that this is a chicken and egg game because the decline is reflecting the consumer recession.”
Economists expect oil prices to continue to fall toward $3.50 a gallon in the U.S.
Sources: Agence France-Presse, Fortune Magazine, Pentagon website
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