This is from the International Herald Tribune.
Unrest spread in Tehran on Thursday, the second day of gasoline rationing in oil-rich Iran, with drivers lining up for miles, gas stations being set on fire and state-run banks and business centers coming under attack.
Dozens were arrested, and the Tehran police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, complained to reporters that the police had been caught unaware by the decision to ration fuel.
The anger posed a keen threat to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was elected two years ago on a platform of bringing income from oil to the nation’s households. Instead, even though Iran is one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, it has been forced to import about 40 percent of its gasoline at an annual cost of $5 billion to make up for shortfalls in its archaic refining industry.
Some analysts said the decision to ration gasoline was intended to prepare for the possibility of more United Nations economic sanctions as a result of concern over Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran imports gas because it’s refineries are too old and too few. They pay over $2.00 a gallon for imported gas and subsidize it so, consumers pay far less (currently 34 cents a gallon).
If you want to upset someone, start taking away the things that help them get through the day.
There are some interesting correlations between this situation and the recent developments in Venezuela. Chavez is in Russia, trying to buy weapons and meanwhile, back home students are in the streets shouting “Freedom” as part of a growing anti-Chavez movement that developed when he took away their T.V. Ahmadinejad is hell bent on nuclear proliferation at the expense of what some Iranians feel is their birthright.
Longstanding discount prices have encouraged gasoline consumption in Iran, where many people believe that the vast oil resources make cheap gasoline a basic right.
“There is no reason why we should pay the same price as people outside Iran do,” said Amir Aram, a carpenter in Tehran. “We have all this oil beneath our feet and have to wait for hours in line to get our ration.”
Both Ahmadinejad and Chavez can squash any local uprising but they can only push the rest of the world so far. The problem is when other countries choose to do business with these reprobates. Putin is shameless. He has pocketed billions for helicopters, jets and other arms sold to Chavez. He is contracting to sell air-defense systems and submarines right now. He stands in nervous silence as Chavez uses his stage to spout about “imperial hegemony” but, he takes the money.
Sanctions can work sometimes. We hear a lot about how the rest of the world disagrees with U.S. policies and opinions but you won’t find many that are comfortable with Ahmadinejad pursuing nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, a bi-partisan House panel led by Representative Mark Steven Kirk, Republican of Illinois, and Representative Robert Andrews, Democrat of New Jersey, proposed legislation intended to punish any company that provides Iran with gasoline or helps it import gasoline after Dec. 31. Companies that do could lose access to American customers through sanctions.
As always, these procedures move slowly but it’s a step in the right direction.
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