Worries Continue over the Strait of Hormuz

There continue to be rumors that Iran will dump oil into the Strait of Hormuz to block the shipping lane that is so critical to the movement of crude. For months, there have been worries and speculation that Iran's small navy would try to do the job, but no one can figure out how Iran's tiny ships could stand up to the U.S. Navy, at least for any prolonged time. An oil spill would be much more effective. The fallout of the plan, if instituted, would be to drive high oil prices even higher, which would put further downward pressure on the world's economy.

Der Spiegel reports:

The goal of the plan seems to be that of contaminating the strait so as to temporarily close the important shipping route for international oil tankers, thereby "punishing" the Arab countries that are hostile to Iran and forcing the West to join Iran in a large-scale clean-up operation -- one that might require the temporary suspension of sanctions against Tehran.

Douglas A. McIntyre