We could have paid with a laser guided missile. That would have been great.

Ron Paul gets it right.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain...par-over-iran/

What a great quote....

CBSNews

OK - now what?

Interesting. Whether Iran is bluffing or not, this proves that sanctions are starting to take it's toll against Iran. Also, by threatening to take the Straight of Hormuz, it implies that Iran would prefer conflict, or threat of conflict, with the West over giving up it's nuclear weapon program. Since neither Israel and the US or Iran is going to back off the nuclear weapon standoff, this could mean there is a higher probability that some larger conflict may erupt in the future.

My guess is that Iran is bluffing. Iran really has no means to hold the straight and the US Navy would quickly retake it by military force. It would cause chaotic oil prices for a bit, pissing everyone off, but I doubt would have any lasting effect. I just don't see the point.

Either sanctions are really hurting Iran or politicians are just beating their chests for the upcoming elections in March.

Which Iran made that statement? A common mistake by many is to assume same military officer making an off hand comment represents Iranian power brokers.

Newt Gringrich also said he would nuke Iran. Maybe Iran is replying with the same empty threat? Maybe Iran is mocking Newts?

Report is about as important as an article in People Magazine since required and relevant facts were not provided. Hearsay, reported because it was a slow newsday, is better ignored.

Lots of Republican dick waving going on, seems like Paul is the only one with confidence in his manhood.

It was Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi.

Close but no cookie there Otis, he said he would bomb Iran's nukes.

you just got the words in the wrong order or something

easy mistake to make

And the only weapon available to do that is a nuke. To keep the naive naive, Newt just forgot to mention that action is called a unilateral nuclear surprise attack. Something more despicable than the attack on Pearl Harbor. So why is Newt dic waving while forgetting to mention that important little fact. He wants to Pearl Harbor Iran with nukes?

The Iranian VP does not represent opinions of those who hold the power. Even Ahmadinejad depends on those power brokers to remain in office. The VP is a minor player who does not represent the opinion of Iran's major power brokers.

Griff has accurately summarized the topic. Inventing bogeymen gains Tea party to support. Honesty is not relevant here. Be more worried about extremists on both sides using fear and military taunting to manipulate the most naive among us.

Most serious threats are not so obvious. That naval threat was long too obvious to be a concern.

Obama and Clinton seem to have a strong hand to play in 2012,
as a result of Obama signing US sanctions on Iran and it's
nuclear program into law on New Years Day.

Reuters
By Robin Pomeroy
TEHRAN | Thu Jan 5, 2012
Screws tighten on Iran as big buyers shun its oil
(Reuters) - Iran's neighbors may appear to be going along with the US sanctions,
but push back may be just behind a curtain.

MIDDLE EAST NEWS
MARC CHAMPION
JANUARY 6, 2012
Turkish Visit Aims to Smooth Ties With Tehran
Caught Between Neighbor and the West, Ankara Seeks to Avoid Sunni-Shia Conflict

Really? How is this any different than all the other times all the other presidents did this type of thing. China is more than willing to buy their oil & France probably, I'm sure.

This one sanction is painful. Nobody wanted to stop 10% of the world's oil. Especially since so much of it is needed in places such as Japan.

All oil transactions go through Iran's Central Bank. So all previous sanctions averted that bank. Placing a world wide embargo on Iran's central bank, essentially, stops oil trade. Something that was not done previously due to objections by so many close American allies who need that oil.

Not reported is an apparent wide world agreement to do something. What most nations previously did not want to do. For example, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, many Persian Gulf states, obviously Britain and France, and maybe even Switzerland would be in on the planning. For these sanctions to work, then countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAW and Oman had to be planning for what would result months ago. News reports give almost no indication of what must be major negotiations, cooperation, and agreements made covertly.

We don’t know if all that was planned. We only know that Iran is truly concerned about this one painful sanction. Many have discussed it previously. But nobody previously had enough willpower to act.

FTFY ... we'll see.

Maybe we are already seeing....

Bloomberg
January 06, 2012, 4:46 AM EST

Iran Central Bank Moves to Rescue Rial as Allies Tighten Net