Iran threatens oil routes as Obama
signs tough new energy sanctions DEBKAfile Special Report - July 2, 2010, 10:24 AM 
Obama signs first sanctions with biteA US-Iran showdown loomed closer early Friday, July 2, when president Barack
Obama signed into law a series of energy sanctions, the toughest yet, for arresting Iran's nuclear weapons program. Iran's
defense minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi warned that searches of its ships or planes would have
"dire consequences" for world security and the Middle East in particular.
The law drafted by Congress shuts US markets to firms that provide Iran with refined petroleum products,
such as gasoline and jet fuel, invest in its energy sector, or provide financing, insurance or shipping services.
Non-US banks doing business with blacklisted Iranian entities, primarily Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
organizations, will be banned from US markets.
These measures complement and strengthen the new UN Security Council sanctions and European measures
and will hit every Iranian. The
oil-rich country Islamic Republic imports 40 percent of its refined oil needs
because of its own inadequate refining capacity. Any investors in projects for developing this sector would
be punishable under the new US law.
Earlier, Gen. Vahidi warned world powers against implementing certain UN sanctions: "As regards inspection of
(Iranian) ships, there are one or two countries which pursue the issue and have made some comments about
it and this indicates that these people don't pay any attention to security issues in the region and the world," said.
Tuesday, June 26, debkafile's military sources reported the arrival of the USS Nassau-LHA-4 at the head of a
strike group of amphibian craft to the Gulf of Aden-Red Sea sector with 4,000 Marines aboard, including special
units trained in operations behind enemy lines. Our sources disclosed that their presence caused Tehran to hold
back the ships destined for breaking Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza Strip for fear they would be intercepted
and searched as UN sanctions permits.
The Speaker of the Iranian parliament (Majlis) Ali Larijani and the Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Ali Fadavi
have both threatened harsh reprisals against all vessels, including American warships and oil tankers sailing through
the Persian Gulf and Straits of Hormuz, for any attempts to search ships or planes carrying cargoes to Iran.
The new US law will make shipping and insurance costs for Iran's gasoline imports prohibitive. They are
the first
sanctions to bite really deep into Iran's economy and hit the Guards' commercial empire. Their control of refined
oil imports is a major source of revenue and those profits provide funding for their operations, the foremost of
which is the development and manufacture of nuclear weapons.
debkafile's Iranian sources have no doubt that Iran will not take the new penalties lying down and will strike
back - possibly, in the first instance, by impeding Persian Gulf shipping carrying Saudi and Gulf oil out to the
United States, Europe and the Far East, with immediate effect on world oil prices.
Interception of an Iranian ship suspected of carrying contraband energy products could well spin into a showdown.
President Obama indicated that this time the United States is determined to follow through on its punitive
measures against Iran. As he signed the new sanctions, he said: "There should be no doubt, the US and the international
community are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The new sanctions would strike at its capacity
to finance its nuclear program." He went on to say, "If Tehran persists in its course, the pressure will continue to mount
and its isolation continue to deepen."
