"India, Russia and China must work together to lower the temperature and stave off the confrontation which is looming large."
By imposing sanctions that aim to throttle Iran's oil industry and exports, the United States and Europe have embarked on a course of action that is likely to backfire on the West and the immediate region.
The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Iran issue needs diplomacy, not crude weapon
Any disruption of oil supplies from the Gulf, whether as a result of conscious OPEC policy decision or due to closure of the Strait of Hormuz, will create untold problems not only for Western economies and the Gulf's oil suppliers but also for oil importing developing countries like India. Last time when oil embargo was imposed on the "west" it had a lasting impact on both oil prices and global inflation.
It is sad that the international community, fed by western propaganda, is looking at the Iran crisis as a bilateral issue of controlling Iran's nuclear ambitions, rather than at the larger consequences of the use of oil as a political weapon for the region and world.
What is required today is to stop the implementation of sanction measures the European Union (EU) has rashly announced. But oil sanctions have raised the temperature so much that a conflict by miscalculation has become a major threat.
Disengaging the weapon of oil from the dialogue required to deal with Iran's nuclear issue is the need of the hour.
