Posted on 08/22/2006 3:26:57 AM PDT by 12B
BUCHAREST, Romania -- A Romanian oil rig off the coast of Iran came under fire Tuesday from an Iranian military warship and was later occupied by Iranian troops, a company spokesman said.
The Iranians first fired into the air and then fired at the Orizont rig, said GSP spokesman Radu Petrescu. Half an hour later, troops from the ship boarded and occupied the rig and the company lost contact with the 26 crew members shortly afterward.
Petrescu said he had no information about any injuries or deaths. The Orizont rig has been moored near Kish island in the Persian Gulf since October 2005, he told the Associated Press.
GSP, also known as the Oil Services Group, is a private Romanian company established in 2004 which operates six offshore rigs that it bought from Romania's largest oil company, Petrom.
Two of its rigs are operating near the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf as part of a deal signed between Petrom, GSP and Dubai-based Oriental Oil Co.
The Romanian company was in Iranian courts earlier this year over a dispute involving another one of its oil rigs, Fortuna, the financial weekly Saptamana Financiara has reported. It was unclear whether Tuesday's incident was related to legal issues.
Wonder what the heck this is all about.
The Iranians are showing up in force, attacking a probably unarmed oil rig.
Maybe this is their big Aug. 22nd event?
Gee, they're so brave.
Attacking an unarmed oil rig.
I guess that's right about at their level of competence.
Some countries nationalize their natural resources ... Iran sends in a gunboat. Of course they'll get no objections from the world community. The world fears Iran and Islamic facism and is frozen into inaction.
Yea, they probably won't get much response from Romania. It's a strange thing to do.
I’d say it is an act of war.
Pretty expensive piece of equipment to be unarmed in this day and age. They should be heavily armed IMHO at least enough to repel boarders.
Well here it is folks!!!
It's the IRANIAN ARMAGEDDON!
(brought to you by Iranian President Nutbar Ahmadjihad)
and HERE is the decision making process which led to the apocalyptic strike upon the (ahem) Romanian oil rig:
[cabinet meeting of President Ahmadjihad, 0000 hrs local time, 22 August 2006]
....Ahmadjihad - "It is TIME my brothers! TIME for Allah (PBUH) to return to the Earth, wipe OUT the Zionist scum, and establish Islamic rule over our planet!"
....General #1 - "Allah AKbar!! Our mighty and invulnerable Iranian armed forces stand ready to receive your orders SIR!"
....Ahmadjihad - "EXcellent! Fire all Shahab-3 missiles upon the filthy Israeli nation!"
....General #2 - "uhhh Your Excellency? If we fire those missiles, Israel will use their nuclear weapons to turn Iran into a glassy parking lot suitable only for the Great Satan's Wal-Mart stores"
....Ahmadjihad - "Point taken General, in consideration of that political reality, we shall first launch waves of Iranian martyr brigades by air upon the closest concentration of American naval forces in the Persian Gulf!"
....General #3 - "Your most exalted and wise Excellency? If we were to directly attack United States naval forces, there is an excellent chance that Iran will witness scores of nuclear tipped "Tomahawk" cruise missiles flying towards their targets in our beloved Islamic Republic as locusts covered the ancient land of Egypt, we will be as decimated as badly as if Israel launched their own nuclear weaons, indeed the American response would most likely be worse."
....Ahmadjihad - "General, your shrewd observations are very much appreciated, and while our ultimate victory over the Great Satan and it's imperialist minions is assured, we shall not provoke unnecessary damage and casualties upon the Iranian sheep, errr, people, yes, the PEOPLE! But I ask you courageous, brave and inventive Generals of the Revolution, how shall we usher in the events which will allow the holy 12th Imam to make his appearance known?"
....General #4 - "Your most brilliant Excellency, I suggest that we direct our fearless Islamic armed forces to attack and occupy a target which will bring immediate victory, strike fear into the hearts of our enemies, and select the target based upon the cowardice of that target and their inability to raise one finger in opposition!"
....Ahmadjihad - "Allah AKBAR General!! Excellent! And what target do you, in your illustrious military experience, recommend to this pure and holy Council of Islamic War?"
....General #4 - "Mr. President, I urge an immediate strike upon (unfurling map) this Romanian oil rig within spitting distance of our borders!"
....General #3 - "Say, that IS a great target, they have no way to resist, we suffer few if any casualties, we get to shoot our guns in the air and scream at the top of our lungs, and the world will see a mighty symbol of their soon ending supply of Islamic oil and our industrial might!"
....General #2 - "I concur, that is a brilliant tactic!"
....General #1 - "And WTF are the Romanians going to do? Go to the U.N.? [cabinet breaks up in hilarious laughter]
....Ahmadjihad - "Then praise Allah (PBUH), let the mighty winds of Islamic destiny begin to blow, launch the attack at once!"
....General #4 - "Your Excellency, we are witnesses to the greatest day in all of history, and we are humbled to serve as instruments of Allah's (PBUH) Infinite Will!"
....Ahmadjihad - "On to VICTORY!!! Allah AKBAR!!!!"
"Maybe this is their big Aug. 22nd event?"
That's what I was thinking. They are supposed to be holding large-scale military exercises right now. IIRC, Egypt used large exercises to disguise its intentions in the Sinai in 1973. Who knows, maybe the seizure of the Romanian rig is part of a plan to close the Straits (of Hormuz). I'm definitely being paranoid and stretching things here, but weirder things have happened.
OTOH, maybe their response to the UN will be just a normal response.
Disputed territorial waters.
BTW, there is speculation that Irans
known oil reserves were greatly
overstated, and in fact, they are past
peak production, and beginning to dry up.
I agree, although I would think it would be difficult to arm an oil rig. The thing is a literally a sitting duck.
But I thought without lots of chaos it'll take a very long time for his precious "hidden imam" (peekaboo) to make a reappearance. :)
Ol' Abombinjihad's first step in his 'global domination adventure' I guess.
Well he's gone and done it now. Got the Romanians ticked at him!
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