absolutely correct..we buy no oil from Iran...we could stop Iran cold if the surrounding countries closed the borders,the US and Britain blocked the tankers in the Straits, and all traffic was halted in and out of Iran, freezing all financial transactions with the outside world..it would take about a week for Iran to crack. But the world is essentially too spineless to do that.
..... or a handful of well-place cruise missiles could torch a good portion of Iran's refining capacity, which would remind the Mullahs of how quickly and easily they can be returned to the 7th century. Iran's economy is already teetering, and they are desperate for more refining capacity (they have to import at least 40% of their refined petroleum products). Take out just 1 or 2 or 3 of Iran's 10 key refineries (and/or supporting pipelines) and they are immediately plunged into economic catastrophe...... major shortages and inflation, etc. The main danger (besides wimpy liberal "opinion" with much wailing and gnashing of teeth) is that it could swing the Iranian population toward a nationalist rallying cry with the loathsome Mullahocracy, which is currently immensely unpopular. Even Stalin was able to make himself a lot more popular (though the catastrophes for the USSR in summer 1941 were largely his fault) by using nationalism against the enemy.