Iran's Tough Swagger Can't Disguise a Basic Weakness

[Times-UK] Bronwen Maddox - This week Iran said it was ready to start uranium enrichment. It may be ready in the sense of wanting to start, but that does not mean that it can. This is a country, after all, that has been prevented by sanctions and lack of expertise from building refineries to turn its own oil into petrol. It has been forced to spend the bounty from high oil prices on subsidizing imported petrol to fend off protests that might threaten the regime. Nor has Iran been able to make spare parts for its national airline, which has a safety record so poor that buying a ticket carries a significant risk of death.


2007-04-12 01:00:00

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