Iran Blames West for Artificially Raising Oil Prices

TEHRAN (FNA)- July 9, 2008

Iran's president blamed the West for "artificially" raising crude oil prices, and dismissed fears that Israel and the US could be preparing to attack his country as a "funny joke."

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on a visit to Malaysia, told a news conference Tuesday that the global production of oil is much more than consumption, suggesting economics are not behind today's record-high prices.

"So it is very clear and obvious that the market does not have a role in raising prices. There are some others that are determining the oil price for the benefit of the few, very rich people of the world," he said.

Ahmadinejad blamed Washington for the world economic crisis and maintaining a nuclear weapons stockpile while opposing Tehran's "peaceful" nuclear program.

He also questioned the United States' permanent membership in the UN Security Council, its occupation of Iraq, and held it responsible for illegal drug production in Afghanistan.

Ahmadinejad said the high oil prices - which are hovering around US$140 a barrel - are the result of a weak dollar and a deliberate decision by the United States and some European countries to profit from high fuel taxes. In some European countries, 70 percent of the fuel cost goes to governments as tax, he said.

"The meaning of this is that the revenue of these countries is much higher than countries that produce and export crude oil," said Ahmadinejad, whose country is the second biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

He stated that the US may intend to use the "artificially high price of crude oil" as a justification to start politically-sensitive exploration in the North Pole.

Meantime, Ahmadinejad expressed hope that the next US administration will rebuild American's reputation in the eyes of the world.

"Today, the government of the United States is on the threshold of bankruptcy - from political to economic," he said, speaking through an interpreter.

The United States animosity with Iran stems from its nuclear program. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Iran is under three rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's illegitimate calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment, saying the demand is politically tainted and illogical.

Iran has repeatedly said that it considers its nuclear case closed after it answered the UN agency's questions about the history of its nuclear program.

Yet, the US has remained at loggerheads with Iran over the independent and home-grown nature of Tehran's nuclear technology, which gives the Islamic Republic the potential to turn into a world power and a role model for other third-world countries. Washington has laid much pressure on Iran to make it give up the most sensitive and advanced part of the technology, which is uranium enrichment, a process used for producing nuclear fuel for power plants.

Although Washington claims it prefers a diplomatic resolution to the standoff, the US and Israel have not ruled out a military option.

Washington's push for additional UN penalties contradicted the report by 16 US intelligence bodies that endorsed the civilian nature of Iran's programs. Following the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) and similar reports by the IAEA head - one in November and the other one in February - which praised Iran's truthfulness about key aspects of its past nuclear activities and announced settlement of outstanding issues with Tehran, any effort to impose further sanctions on Iran seems to be completely irrational.

Ahmadinejad said both the Untied States and Israel were "focusing on propaganda and psychological war."

"Before, it would be considered as a serious issue," he said. But Iranians are so used to the threats that they now treat it as a "very funny show. ... These type of wars are considered as a funny joke."

He added, "I assure you that there won't be any war in the future."

Asked to clarify his previous calls for the destruction of Israel, Ahmadinejad said he has nothing against Jews, but only against the "Zionists" who rule Israel.

He predicted that Israel's "Zionist regime" would collapse without the need for any Iranian action.

Crude Oil Rises Again

TEHRAN (FNA)- July 10, 2008

Crude oil rose and the dollar fell once again after Iran test-fired a long-range missile successfully.

The missile fired by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as part of war games was a Shahab 3 with a conventional warhead weighing 1 ton and a 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile) range.

Israeli military was reported to have conducted exercises last month for a strike on Iran, OPEC's second-biggest oil producer.

Political analysts believe that the move is a response to intensified threats by the US and Israel.

Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as 69 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $136.73 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $136.70 at 1:34 p.m. Singapore time.

Iran has said it may blockade the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane for a fifth of the world's crude, if its nuclear facilities are attacked. The country has the second-biggest proved oil reserves and is the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The dollar traded at $1.5717 against the euro at 1:35 p.m. in Singapore from $1.5670 in New York yesterday. It reached $1.5611 on July 7, the highest level since June 25.

Brent crude oil for August settlement climbed as much as 72 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $137.15 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Yesterday, it declined $5.44, or 3.8 percent, to settle at $136.43 a barrel, the biggest drop since March 19. Prices climbed to a record $146.69 on July 3.

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