If Iran is trying to scare up the price of oil in the market, then it is certainly going about it the right way. The threat to block oil routes in the Arabian Gulf will cause even greater alarm than present in an already sensitive market.
As the price of oil is about $143 a barrel and counting, it takes very little to excite the market into higher prices. With escalating costs in every commodity, another panic round of increases is the last thing any economy wants.
Should Israel be stupid enough to attempt an attack on Iran, as has been repeatedly threatened, then of course Tehran has the perfect right to retaliate in kind; this is a given.
But it does nothing to quell the existing nervousness of people in the region by Iran stating as part of its retaliation it would block Arabian Gulf oil routes, which account for approximately 40 per cent of global demand.
Obviously Iran, as the world's fourth largest oil producer, would gain considerably as global prices escalated to previously unforeseen highs.
The loudmouthing that emanates from Iranian officials at all levels does nothing to endear the country to its neighbours. The US President George W. Bush is in a last-ditch attempt at trying to whip up allies to censure Iran in some way, possibly and preferably militarily according to rumours.
So far, the only nation to have warmed to the idea is Israel, which is not surprising, especially when they demonstrated their capability to do so recently in an exercise over the Mediterranean Sea, which caused regional consternation.
The way to resolve the nuclear problem between the West and Iran is through diplomacy, as most people acknowledge. However, as Iran has used delaying tactics for over a decade, patience is wearing thin.
