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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| EU to Pursue Iran Sanctions Despite Threat of Strait Closure |
| 2011-12-29 |
| [An Nahar] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... is pressing ahead with plans to impose new sanctions on Iran, an EU front man said Wednesday after Tehran threatened to close a vital oil transit channel in response to Western measures. "The European Union is considering another set of sanctions against Iran and we continue to do that," Michael Mann, front man for EU foreign affairs Chief Catherine Ashton, told Agence La Belle France Presse. "We expect the decision will be taken in time for the foreign affairs council on January 30," he said, referring to the next meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned on Tuesday that "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz" if the West broadened sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The United States and the 27-nation EU are considering new sanctions aimed at Iran's oil and financial sectors. But EU governments have been divided over whether to impose an embargo on Iranian crude. Oil from Iran in 2010 amounted to 5.8 percent of total EU imports, making Tehran the bloc's fifth-largest supplier after Russia, Norway, Libya and Soddy Arabia. Spain represents 14.6 percent of Iranian oil imports to Europe, Greece 14.0 and Italia 13.1 percent. More than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, linking the Gulf -- and its petroleum-exporting states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Soddy Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- to the Indian Ocean. The United States maintains a navy presence in the Gulf in large part to ensure that passage for oil remains free. NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... officials declined to comment on the Iranian threat. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 I hope the Iranians are about to see the side of Europe that they won't like... |
| Posted by: American Delight 2011-12-29 19:51 |
| #2 The EU pursues sanctions but is completely impotent to do anything if the strait is closed. They are depending on Uncle Sugar to provide any military muscle. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2011-12-29 18:10 |
| #1 The United States maintains a navy presence in the Gulf in large part to ensure that passage |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2011-12-29 01:29 |