Israel Lobby Over American Oil Industry

American war against Iran?

4/24/2005 3:32:00 PM GMT

Iran has the second largest oil reservoir in the world

Michael t. klare has written a fascinating article about the possibility of an American war against Iran, entitled ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran'

Klare says that Iran has vast oil and gas reserves. It has the second largest oil reservoir in the world, "According to the most recent tally by Oil and Gas Journal, Iran houses the second-largest pool of untapped petroleum in the world, an estimated 125.8 billion barrels. Only Saudi Arabia, with an estimated 260 billion barrels, possesses more; Iraq, the third in line, has an estimated 115 billion barrels. With this much oil - about one-tenth of the world's estimated total supply - Iran is certain to play a key role in the global energy equation, no matter what else occurs." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005).

Iran also has the second largest reserves of gas in the world, "According to Oil and Gas Journal, Iran has an estimated 940 trillion cubic feet of gas, or approximately 16 percent of total world reserves. (Only Russia, with 1,680 trillion cubic feet, has a larger supply.)." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005).

American companies could have been helping to exploit these vast resources thereby making huge profits. The scale of these profits can be gleaned from the following facts, "Iran .. has considerable growth potential: it is now producing about 4 million barrels
per day, but is thought to be capable of boosting its output by another 3 million barrels or so. Few, if any, other countries possess this potential, so Iran's importance as a producer, already significant, is bound to grow in the years ahead." (Michael T. Klare
?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005); "At present, Iran is producing only a small share of its gas reserves, about 2.7 trillion cubic feet per year. This means that Iran is one of the few countries capable of supplying much larger amounts of natural gas in the future." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005). Klare makes something of an understatement about this potential for profits, "No doubt the major U.S. energy companies would love to be working with Iran today in developing these vast oil and gas supplies." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005). American oil companies might have a much less sanguine view of this issue.

However, the neocons managed to persuade the Clinton administration to pass a law prohibiting oil companies in America, and the rest of the world, from doing business with Iran on the grounds that it was supporting Hezbollah movement. "A decade ago, Israel and its friends in Washington launched a campaign to convince President Bill Clinton that Iranian support of "terrorism" and its military buildup endangered Western interests.

Tehran's alleged support of "terrorism" really consisted only of support for Hezbollah against Israel's illegal occupation of southern Lebanon. The Israeli campaign succeeded in getting Congress to pass the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), which placed American sanctions on any company expending more than $20 million on Iranian oil and gas development. It was all aimed at stopping Iranian support for Hezbollah." (Andrew I. Kilgore ?'Neocons Battle Against U.S. Rapprochement With Iran' Washington Report on Middle East Affairs http://www.wrmea.com/archives/May_2004/0405035.html May 2004, page 35); "At present, however, they are prohibited from doing so by Executive Order (EO) 12959, signed by President Clinton in 1995 and renewed by President Bush in March 2004." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005).

The original rationale for sanctions against Iran was its support for Hezbollah - despite the fact that Hezbollah was no threat to America and only a defensive threat to Israel. In more recent times the rationale for sanctions has changed. Iran is now deemed to pose a nuclear weapons threat to America - even though it doesn't even possess a functioning civil nuclear power programme. The change in the sanctions' rationale was imperative to cover up the fact that American oil companies were being sacrificed in order to protect Israel from Hezbollah. At least with the new rationale the Bush administration might be able to sell such a policy to the American public on the grounds that America's security was under threat although whether this would be any consolation to American oil companies is another matter.

Whilst American oil companies have been sitting on the sidelines, quietly cursing the financial losses that Israeli friends in successive American administrations have imposed upon them, the rest of the world has been busy exploiting Iranian resources - doubtlessly ecstatic about America foregoing such a bonanza because of its suicidal politically kosher policies.

France, Russia and Malaysia: "During the Clinton administration, French, Russian and Malaysian oil companies signed a multi-billion dollar contract to develop Iran's South Pars gas field. This was clearly a case where ILSA might have been invoked. Clinton and his foreign policy brass met late into the night to consider the issue. Leon Fuerth, foreign policy adviser to Vice President Al Gore, argued passionately for invoking ILSA. In the end, however, President Clinton refused to go along, out of fear that the United States would be taken to task by the World Trade Organization - and that it likely would lose." (Andrew I. Kilgore ?'Neocons Battle Against U.S. Rapprochement With Iran' Washington Report on Middle East Affairs http://www.wrmea.com/archives/May_2004/0405035.html May 2004, page 35). What a shock, eh? Fancy one of Al gore's Jewish advisors trying to persuade Clinton to
support Israel. China. "According to the Department of Energy (DoE),
Iran supplied 14 percent of China's oil imports in 2003, and is expected to provide an even larger share in the future. China is also expected to rely on Iran for a large share of its liquid natural gas (LNG) imports. In October 2004, Iran signed a $100 billion,
25-year contract with Sinopec, a major Chinese energy firm, for joint development of one of its major gas fields and the subsequent delivery of LNG to China. If this deal is fully consummated, it will constitute one of China's biggest overseas investments and represent a major strategic linkage between the two countries." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005).

India. "In January, the Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) signed a 30-year deal with the National Iranian Gas Export Corp. for the transfer of as much as 7.5 million tons of LNG to India per year. The deal, worth an estimated $50 billion, will also entail Indian involvement in the development of Iranian gas fields." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005).

India and Pakistan. "Indian and Pakistani officials are discussing the construction of a $3 billion natural gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan - an extraordinary step for two long-term adversaries. If completed, the pipeline would provide both countries with a substantial supply of gas and allow Pakistan to reap $200-$500 million per year in transit fees. "The gas pipeline is a win-win proposition for Iran, India, and Pakistan," Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz declared in January." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran' http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005).

Japan. "In early 2003, a consortium of three Japanese companies acquired a 20 percent stake in the development of the Soroush-Nowruz offshore field in the Persian Gulf, a reservoir thought to hold 1 billion barrels of oil. One year later, the Iranian Offshore Oil Company awarded a $1.26 billion contract to Japan's JGC Corporation for the recovery of natural gas and natural gas liquids from Soroush-Nowruz and other offshore fields." (Michael T. Klare ?'Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran'
http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=5540 April 13th 2005).

Israeli allies in successive American administrations have prevented American oil companies from making vast profits from exploiting Iranian resources. In other words, America's Israeli lobby is so powerful it is able to prevent America's gigantic, multi-national, oil companies from doing what they are in business to do i.e. make as much profit as possible. This conclusion is rather unusual since most commentators continually point out firstly, that Bush's cabinet is dominated by men in the oil business and, secondly, that there are no neocons in his cabinet. It seems scarcely credible that the American oil industry with placemen at the top of the American political system are losing out to the Israeli lobby. It seems even more remarkable given that the original rationale for the sanctions was a miniscule military threat to Israel rather than to America. That American oilmen were unable to prevent a policy that was solely of benefit to Israel and which cost them vast amounts of money is quite revealing about who wields real power in the American government.

There is, however, an additional piece of evidence which confirms the dominance of the Israel lobby over the American oil industry. If America's foreign policies were being determined by the oil industry then the American government would have developed a
friendly relationship with Iran to help with the transportation of oil from the Caspian sea. The most economic, and, thus, most profitable, way to get Caspian oil onto the international oil markets is through the construction of an oil pipeline through Iran.

This, however, would be a disaster for Israel which supports a much longer pipeline to turkey. "A lot is at stake for the neocons in this latest struggle - perhaps everything, in fact. If the United States reconciles with Iran, the oil pipeline from Baku, Azerbaijan to Ceyhan, Turkey, so passionately sought by Israel, would be in danger. The international oil companies operating in the Caspian Sea region immediately would push for a shorter and cheaper pipeline route - through Iran - to salt water." (Andrew I. Kilgore ?'Neocons Battle Against U.S. Rapprochement With Iran' Washington Report on Middle East Affairs http://www.wrmea.com/archives/May_2004/0405035.html May 2004, page 35).

American oil companies have been losing out on vast profits from Iran and the American economy has also consequentially suffered significant economic losses
because of Israel's policy of prohibiting trade with Iran. However, as far as the Israeli allies in the Bush administration are concerned this is of no significance because they believe America's primary role in the world is not to help its multinational oil companies make profits but to protect Israel.

Prepared by: John Lynch