High Oil Prices

In a stern warning to Iran days after a January 6 confrontation with U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, Bush put Tehran on notice that it needs to be careful. The president said it would not matter to him whether an attack against an American vessel resulted from an order by the government in Iran or a rash decision by an Iranian boat captain.





"It's not going to matter to me one way or another," Bush said. If the Iranians hit a U.S. ship, "there are going to be serious consequences," he said.






U.S. officials claim Iranian speedboats swarmed three Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that is the only entry and exit to the Persian Gulf. They said U.S. Navy commanders were considering firing warning shots, before the retreat of the five Iranian speedboats, which the Pentagon said were operated by the elite Revolutionary Guards.

This article is important because it discusses the rising tension between the United States and Iran concerning oil. Oil prices have risen to $100 per barrel, and the United States is "feeling the pain" of the price increase. The incident in the Persian Gulf further escalated the tension.

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