Iran’s nuclear drive linked to looming oil crisis

Iran’s nuclear ambitions are motivated not just by a desire for regional supremacy but by a potentially devastating crisis in its oil industry, a US researcher said in a report made public yesterday.

For at least 18 months, Iran has failed to meet its quota for oil production set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, he said.

The strong suggestion, Stern said, is that Iran’s oil production is now actually falling, despite the bonanza that exporters have enjoyed from a period of record-high crude prices.

The Peninsula Qatar