January9, 2007: The U.S. continues to use its dominant position in the world financial markets, to block Iranian attempts to maintain and improve its oil industry. Foreign companies interested in helping Iran maintain oil facilities, find themselves unable to arrange the financing. As a result, oil production is slowly declining, while local consumption (and very cheap prices) continues. At the current rate, Iran will have little, or no, oil to export in ten years. This kind of "weapon" does not work quickly, but it does work surely. Nuclear weapons could give the Iranians some muscle to help them block this stranglehold the U.S. has on them. It's not just the corruption of the religious dictatorship that is ruining the economy, its also the difficulty of bringing in foreigners to help fix it. With the threat of American financial regulators eventually nailing them, few foreign firms are willing to take the risk.

January 8, 2007: Iran is negotiating with an Indian firm to build a much needed oil refinery in Iran. But the looming threat of trade sanctions (in response to the Iranian nuclear weapons program) have stalled the refinery project, and most other major foreign investments.

January 1, 2007: U.S. and Iraqi troops have been cracking down on Iran backed militias in Iraq, and this has led to raids which have captured about a dozen Iranian officials. Some had diplomatic immunity, and had to be releases. Others did not, and are still being interrogated. These men, and documents captured with them, indicate an aggressive Iranian plan to control, as much as possible, the Iraqi government. Over 60 percent of Iraqis are Shia Moslems, like about 90 percent of Iranians. These two countries are the only two in the world controlled by Shia Moslems, and, together, they control about half the oil in the Persian Gulf. The Sunni Arab nations in the region are very afraid of these two Shia dominated nations cooperating.

December 31, 2006: Russia has delivered, on time, about half the 29 Tor-M1 short range antiaircraft missile system.

December 30, 2006: The U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian and Chinese weapons exporters, for selling weapons to Iran. Russia and China have protested, and it remains to be seen how far the U.S. will go to back up its sanctions.