Oil and gold prices set to soar on the developing IRAN story

[Zippyjuan]

Even a "limited" attack would spike oil prices and hurt the economy.

Iran is more than twice the size of Iraq and is better armed. I agree that we would not really be able to invade it with ground troops.

Iran is not likely to attack Israel. That would not gain them anything- so there would be no reason for us to "retaliate" for an attack in Israel. Iran does not have a history of attacking any other countries.

[swissaustrian]

Even a "limited" attack would spike oil prices and hurt the economy.

Iran is more than twice the size of Iraq and is better armed. I agree that we would not really be able to invade it with ground troops.

Iran is not likely to attack Israel. That would not gain them anything- so there would be no reason for us to "retaliate" for an attack in Israel. Iran does not have a history of attacking any other countries.

I put "attack" in quotation marks meaning a false flag. It wouldn´t be the first time that the Mossad does such things. I don´t expect Iran to launch a real attack either.

[swissaustrian]

EU May Place Oil Embargo on Iran
The unfavorable IAEA report indicating Iran was developing nuclear weapons was culminated by Tuesday’s ransacking of the British embassy in Teheran. The EU FMs will discuss intensification of the economic sanctions on Iran, including a possible oil embargo. France and Holland have recalled their ambassadors to Iran for consultations. Norway has closed its embassy in Iran, and Sweden has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Stockholm for consultation. Italy is considering a similar move.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Ne...sh.aspx/225962

Stupid EU. The Iranians will just sell their oil to the Chinese instead.

[Zippyjuan]

I think it is a huge over-reaction by Europe to the situation.

[swissaustrian]

I think it is a huge over-reaction by Europe to the situation.

and they´re only hurting themselves by cutting off some of their oil supply. Iran will find other buyers at higher prices thanks to the embargo which will cause a fear premium.

[Liberty74]

I heard Lindsay Williams in September of 2010 on the Alex Jones show saying an Iran war would occur soon (end of 2010 sometime was his insider told him). He apparently was in talks with a globalist in the know who was dying of cancer up in Alaska. And as we know, there are always behind the scenes crap that goes on with the globalists that can put their agenda on hold. These people work in 25 year increments.

War with Iran is gonna happen and my fear is WWIII. It's all about rallying around the President for his re-election. Remember Biden saying that something was going to happen in the first six months of Obama's presidency that would test him? I thought Israel attacking Iran was it. Maybe that time is around the corner and things are in place now.

[Zippyjuan]

Lindsay Williams says a lot of things. He also said that John McCain would be president and that the entire Middle East would be bankrupt by 2010. He also said he would be killed if he kept talking about things. And he is still talking.

[swissaustrian]

Press TV, the Iranian propaganda mouth piece reports:

Iran military downs US spy drone
A senior Iranian military official says Iran's Army has downed a remote-controlled reconnaissance drone operated by the US military in the eastern part of the country.
The informed source said on Sunday that Iran Army's electronic warfare unit successfully targeted the American-built RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft after it crossed into Iranian airspace over the border with neighboring Afghanistan.
He added that the US reconnaissance drone has been seized with minimum damage.
The RQ-170 is a stealth unmanned aircraft designed and developed by Lockheed Martin Company.
The US military and the CIA use the drone to launch missile strikes in Afghanistan and in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region.
The unnamed Iranian military official further added that “due to the clear border violation, the operational and electronic measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Armed Forces against invading aircraft will not remain limited to the Iran's borders."
The report comes as the United States has beefed up its military presence in and around the Persian Gulf region in recent months in the wake of popular uprising in Bahrain.
The US Department of Defense says Washington is closely monitoring the developments in Bahrain, which is the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and holds some 4,200 US service members.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/213765.html

[swissaustrian]

WTI at $ 102 (black), brent at $ 111 (orange) and rising:

LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday with Brent crude futures up near $111, extending last week's gains as rising tensions between Iran and the West increased the risk of disruption to crude shipments by the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.
Iran warned on Sunday that any move to block its oil exports would more than double crude prices with devastating consequences for a fragile global economy.
Brent crude was up $1.14 at $111.08 a barrel by 1313 GMT, after last week posting a gain of more than 3 percent, its best weekly gain since mid-October. Earlier Brent had pushed to an intraday high of $111.22 a barrel.
U.S. crude was up 81 cents to $101.77 a barrel, having posted a gain of 4.3 percent last week.
Christopher Bellew, an oil trader with Jefferies Bache in London, said that worries about Iran and Syria were helping to buoy oil prices. "If Iranian exports were suspended that would be very significant as the market is tight already," he said.The European Union is considering a ban - already in place in the United States - on Iranian oil imports. The storming of the British Embassy in Tehran last week has opened the door for tougher action against Iran which is thought to be working on a nuclear bomb.
"The risk of disruptions to oil supplies remains high," said Christophe Barret, global oil analyst at Credit Agricole CIB. An embargo on Iranian oil "would introduce severe disruption to refining in several EU countries" he said.Barret added that speculation about possible military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites have helped to increase the risk premium on oil prices.
But on Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made one of his most extensive arguments to date against any imminent military action against Iran over its nuclear programme, saying he was convinced sanctions and diplomatic pressure were working.
Israel has called a nuclear-armed Iran a threat. Iran says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes.
In Syria, EU sanctions are already biting with Royal Dutch Shell shutting down its activities there.
On Monday, Gulfsands Petroleum said it was reviewing the impact of the latest EU sanctions against Syria on its production activities and its contracts with the Syrian government and the General Petroleum Corporation (GPC).
"Syria was exporting about 400,000 barrels per day at the start of the year and it is probably exporting nothing at the moment," said Bellew.
Oil ministers from OPEC members Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain said that the market was well supplied, echoing similar comments by Qatar's energy minister and the OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri at the weekend.
OPEC will meet next week in Vienna, but with Iran holding the presidency of the OPEC conference until the end of the year, analysts do not expect much from the meeting. Iran is OPEC's second-largest producer.
EUROZONE HOPES
The oil market is also eyeing developments in the eurozone which reach a critical phase this week as European leaders work towards a rescue plan to be unveiled at a crucial summit in Brussels on Friday.
"There will be a lot of volatility this week with all the European news," said Barret. "Prices can be expected to move significantly throughout - it's a big week for Europe."
The Chinese economy showed further signs of slowing, raising hopes that the central bank would take more action to support growth in the world's second largest oil consumer.
The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for China's services sector fell to 52.5 from 54.1 in November, marking its slowest rate of growth in three months. (Additional reporting by Francis Kan in Singapore; editing by William Hardy)

http://af.reuters.com/article/energy...nnel=0&sp=true

[swissaustrian]

Once again, Brent crude is the major outperformer today.