ALI AKBAR DAREINI of the Associated Press reported this today:

“TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that the sharp fall in global oil prices is the result of ‘treachery,’ in an apparent reference to regional rival Saudi Arabia, which opposed production cuts.

“Oil prices have plunged by more than 40 percent since June to around $65 a barrel, placing severe strain on Iran’s economy, which is already hobbled by international sanctions imposed over its nuclear program. An OPEC meeting last month failed to reach agreement on production curbs, mainly because of Saudi opposition.

“Rouhani told a Cabinet meeting Wednesday that the fall in prices is at least partly ‘politically motivated,’ the result of a ‘conspiracy against the interests of the region, the Muslim people and the Muslim world.’ His comments reflect concerns among Saudi Arabia’s rivals that the kingdom is capable of withstanding the revenue losses and is forcing lower oil prices to damage their economies.

‘Iran and people of the region will not forget such conspiracies, or in other words, treachery against the interests of the Muslim world,’ he said”.

Of course, the fanatical Mullah of Tehran is once again spewing a pile of hateful nonsense. If the West, particularly the American government, with the help of “Big Oil,” wanted to manipulate the price of oil against the interests of the “Muslim world” it would have done so long before now. No Mr. Rouhani, it’s not a conspiracy by non-Muslims against Muslims, it’s called capitalism. Fracking technology has created an oil boom. Entrepreneurs and investors see an opportunity to make money in a free and lawful market and go after it. Maybe you should try it sometime!

If Iran has all of its eggs in one basket, whose choice was that? Who runs things in Iran? I think the Mullahs of Tehran need to self-examine instead of blaming others for their own shortcomings.

The fact is that the oil boom in America has happened in spite of President Obama and the Democrats anti-fossil fuel strategy. Obama has tied up XL Pipeline, and made it harder to obtain permits to drill on federal land. Most of the increase in U. S. oil production has taken place on private land. In other words environmental extremists and their friends in the Obama administration have been propping up the price of oil to the benefit of some of our most notorious antagonists such as the governments in Iran, Venezuela and Russia.

The price of crude oil on the world market has been in a free fall. The price of West Texas crude closed today at $60.94/bbl. (Jan. 2015 delivery), down from a high of $107/bbl. in June. Today alone, the price of crude oil declined 4%.

While most American consumers may enjoy extra spending money as the price of gasoline drops, the precipitous drop in oil prices is shaking up the world, potentially making it a far more dangerous place. The Venezuelan people who were already suffering an economic calamity before the drop in oil prices are worthy of our sympathy and the current Venezuelan government with Maduro at its head, and which relies so heavily on oil to fund its operations probably will not survive.

Iran is under great strain at present and continues to develop its nuclear weapons program. Will the huge revenue loss cause Russia’s Vladimir Putin to do something rash like invade Latvia or Finland?

I’m not an expert on oil markets or international relations, but my survey of the current scene leads me to the two following conclusions – The recent massive drop in oil prices is not helping the prospects for world peace. Also, the petty dictators that rely on oil as their main source of revenue do their people a great disservice as they neglect to diversify their economies.