Rice says she would not back gas embargo on Iran

[Judi Lynn]

Rice says she would not back gas embargo on Iran
22 minutes ago
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she did not support a gasoline embargo on Iran as a way of punishing Tehran for refusing to give up its uranium enrichment program.

In an interview for publication in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Rice said there were "limitations on the oil card" against Iran, which failed to meet an August 31 U.N. deadline to give up uranium enrichment.

"I don't think that it was anything that you have to look at it in the near term and I'm not sure that it (a gasoline embargo) would have the desired effect," she said, according to a transcript of her interview released by the State Department.

Such a move would serve merely to reinforce the Iranian leadership's desire to make the local population feel that America was against the Iranian people, she said.
(snip/...)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060926/pl_nm/nuclear_iran_rice_dc

[Eugene]

1. Iran and the EU are talking about a deal while Condi bangs the war drums.

An unconfirmed report in the Washington Times says
that a deal may be near.

Iran close to nuclear suspension

Condi made a serious veiled threat. I wish I could believe
that her saber rattling was part of a good cop/bad cop routine,
but mentioning an "oil card" out loud is calling for a major
confrontation. Iran has a bigger oil card of its own to play.

[Rambis]

2. No shit!

Since we are importing a shit load of gas refined in India (cheaper) but it all comes from IRAN!

[hatrack]

3. Yeah, like we'd voluntarily stop buying oil/gasoline from ANYWHERE

Frickin' ridiculous.

[cliss]

4. Wait a minute -

we don't buy any gas from Iran. What are they talking about here? when they say 'GAS' this is vague. It could be Natural Gas (Iran has the world's largest supply of natural gas) or it could be gasoline (they have enormous reserves).

Iran has 3 major buyers:

China
Japan
India

We have a trade embargo against Iran. We have had one in place since the Revolution in 1979 where they kicked out OUR BOY The Shah of Iran. So things are not as clear.

[Javaman]

5. just remember everytime...

condi, I have never ever had an original idea ever, rice opens here mouth, you know it's nothing but bullshit.

[Eugene]

6. Condi is talking about refined gasoline imported from Europe.

This is an empty threat because Iran was already planning to halt
imports and ration gasoline to conserve foreign exchange starting
about now.

Iran to halt gasoline imports, impose rationing - Reuters

[Strelnikov_]

9. Good Job. Beat Me To It

Obviously a case of feigning diplomacy by taking a card off the table that was never there in the first place.

Purely for domestic consumption to show how 'fair' they are being.

[Rambis]

7. We are buying gas from India

that is refined by them but it is from IRANIAN oil wells.

[oblivious]

8. I just can't see how the US has any power to hurt Iran economically.

It's just empty talk. Iran doesn't even bother mocking the threats. They just ignore them. They're meaningless.