Iran And The West

The BBC reports: Iran fuel rations spark violence

At least 12 petrol stations have been torched in the Iranian capital, Tehran, after the government announced fuel rationing for private vehicles.

Windows were smashed and stones thrown at the stations, and there was traffic chaos as motorists queued to buy fuel.

Iranians were given only two hours’ notice of the move that limits private drivers to 100 litres of fuel a month.

Despite its huge energy reserves, Iran lacks refining capacity and it imports about 40% of its petrol.

The country has a large budget deficit largely caused by fuel subsidies and the inflation rate is estimated at 20-30%.

The BBC’s Tehran correspondent, Frances Harrison, says Iran is trying to rein in fuel consumption over fears of possible UN sanctions over its nuclear programme.

Iran fears the West could impose sanctions on its petrol imports and cripple its economy.

This story incorporates the underlying reason why Iran wants nuclear power and wants to provide its own fuel for the reactors. It also highlights why Iran doesn’t trust the West to provide anything it promises in any nuclear settlement. History has proven to the Iranians that the West lies and will screw Iran if it is given an opening.

Iran’s petroleum system was developed by Western countries and companies who did not provide Iran with enough refinery capacity to meet its own needs. They did not want Iran competing in the refined products market, but simply provide them with raw materials.

Sitting on huge petroleum reserves, the Iranian people expect gas to be cheap, and thus, the Iranian government is forced to import refined products and sell them at approximately 20% of their actual cost. Keep in mind a lesson that Americans are starting to learn: the price of gasoline rises faster and higher than the price of oil, and comes down slower than oil.

The Iranians have learned a bitter lesson in being dependent on the West for basic commodities, and it is not a mistake they are apt to repeat. Telling the Iranians that the Russians will supply fuel for their reactors, is not exactly a confidence builder when you look at what Russia has done recently to countries that purchase Russian natural gas.

No government in their right mind is going to trust promises made by Bush, Blair, or Putin. The national interests of Iran dictate that they control the fuel for their reactors. The Iranian government is not run by warm and wonderful peace-loving humanitarians who would never harm a fly, all too many of them are spiteful theocratic thugs, but they aren’t stupid.