White House Rejects Responsibility For Oil Price Spike, Blames Iran
White House rejects responsibility for oil price spike
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/White_H..._10262007.html
Published: Friday October 26, 2007
The White House on Friday rejected any suggestion that sky-high oil prices stemmed from new US sanctions against Iran and escalating US rhetoric against the Islamic republic.
"Look, the problem here isn't the United States, it's not the international community. The problem is Iran," said spokeswoman Dana Perino, who underlined: "We do believe that oil prices are way too high."
She spoke as world oil prices surged to historic highs, breaching 92 dollars for the first time in New York amid rising tensions between the United States and crude-rich Iran and tightening US energy supplies.
Perino also denied that the United States was being "irresponsible" by imposing a fresh round of sanctions on Iran, despite sharp criticism of that decision from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The United States is not at fault. The international community is not at fault. Iran is at fault for not stopping its activities. And sanctions are part of the diplomatic process, they buttress the diplomatic process," she said.
Perino also said that higher oil prices, driven by increasing demand in places like India and China, "are something that has been building up for over a decade."
But asked whether oil markets were skittish over heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, which accuses Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, Perino replied: "I'm not going to comment on market conditions or market movements."
"Iran has not stepped back from trying to pursue a nuclear weapon, or reprocessing and enriching uranium, which would lead to a nuclear weapon. We have provided Iran with a path in order to have a civilian nuclear program. They have not taken that path," she said.
