In The News

Iran’s Strategy Is Working: Stratfor

Reva Goujon September 13, 2019
After the United States abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – an international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear weapons program – and reinstated sanctions, Iran remained defiant, this despite economic hardship accompanyng reduced oil exports and high inflation. The United States expresses a willingness to talk, but Iran refuses without some sanctions relief. “Over the past three...

Russia’s Climate Change Turn: Wall Street Journal

Georgi Kantchev August 23, 2019
Russian leaders who once belittled climate change's urgency have reversed course after wildfires and floods. “Smoke from massive wildfires raging across an area the size of Belgium has engulfed hundreds of villages in Siberia – and spread as far as Seattle and Vancouver,” reports Georgi Kantchev for the Wall Street Journal. Russian scientists point to climate change and temperatures rising...

Iran Crisis – British Oil Tanker Seized: Telegraph

Harriet Alexander and Chris Graham July 21, 2019
Iran seized one British-flagged oil tanker, claiming it had violated international maritime law, and briefly detained another, in what Harriet Alexander and Chris Graham, writing for the Telegraph, called “a major escalation of tensions in the Gulf.” Oil prices are rising. The first vessel had been headed for Saudi Arabia before sailing near an Iranian island and then stopped transmitting...

US Isolated in Iran Crisis: The Hill

Lawrence J. Haas June 24, 2019
Amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, the two countries jockey for international support. The United States withdrew from an international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear weapons development and re-imposed sanctions despite Iranian compliance. The United States has since accused Iran of sabotaging oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, dispatching more troops and military...

Pompeo, Putin, Venezuela: OilPrice.com

Tsvetana Paraskova May 16, 2019
Russia and the United States have been on opposite sides on who should lead Venezuela, a nation that should be prosperous with the world’s largest oil reserves. Russia has supported the Nicolás Maduro regime, in office since 2013, despite mismanagement and corruption, and the United States supports opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with...

US Sanctions Target Iran Oil Sales: Washington Post

Carol Morello April 23, 2019
Ramping up its pressure against the Iranian regime, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States would go after any country that continues to buy Iranian oil. Nations holding waivers that expire May 1 must comply with this policy as well. The Trump administration shows little desire to provide wiggle room for nations with waivers on Iranian oil imports including China, India,...

China, India to Defy US Sanctions on Iranian Oil? CNBC

Sam Meredith April 23, 2019
The Trump administration continues efforts to constrain Iran. In 2018, the US abandoned a nuclear agreement designed to limit Iran’s nuclear program, and the administration announced nations purchasing Iranian oil will face sanctions after May 1. The United States had granted waivers over the past six months to India, China, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, allowing limited...