Biden admin ‘close’ to buying oil from Iran
The Biden administration is considering buying oil from Iran in its efforts to shun Russia, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
At a White House press briefing Friday, Psaki was asked if the president would welcome Iranian oil to increase the supply lost by banning Russian oil.
“So would the President then welcome Iranian oil coming into the United States in order to increase that supply?” Psaki was asked.
"Again, there’s not a — there’s not a deal at this point in time,” Psaki answered. “While we’re close, we’re not there.”
The day before, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg had said in an MSNBC interview that “all options are on the table” when it comes to buying oil from Iran.
“Could the president possibly consider authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline, working something out with Iran?” asked MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle.
“Look, the president has said that all options are on the table,” replied Buttigieg. “But we also need to make sure we’re not galloping after permanent solutions to immediate short-term problems.”
Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism which calls the United States “The Great Satan”. The country has also said that Israel must be “wiped off the map” and has called for all Muslim nations to fight against the Jewish state while funding terror group Hezbollah.
Iran is currently under financial sanctions for continuing to develop its nuclear program.
Nevertheless, there appears to be a growing push from the Left to buy oil from Iran if it means taking a strong stance against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes appeared to join Ryan Cooper, editor of left-wing The American Prospect, in urging the U.S. to purchase oil from the terror state.
“Iran has 103 million barrels of oil loaded up on tankers and ready to go cc @JoeBiden,” tweeted Cooper.
Hayes then retweeted Cooper’s tweet and wrote, “If you’re a) devoted to cutting off Russia’s oil revenues and b) worried about inflation and spiking oil prices, this is one possible solution…”
Earlier last week, National Public Radio (NPR) reporter Camila Domonoske also expressed hope that the U.S. would buy oil from Iran.
“Last but not least, there’s the possibility of a new nuclear deal with Iran,” Domonoske said. “Iran’s a major oil producer that’s been under U.S. sanctions. If there’s a breakthrough and all that oil comes back on markets, prices could come down.”
Many are starting to consider the fact that the Biden administration’s goal may be cheap Iranian oil, after all.
“The Biden administration won’t admit this publicly, but their plan is not to increase the US oil supply to lower gas prices,” tweeted former Navy intel officer and podcast host Jack Posobiec. “They’re trying to push through the Iran deal as fast as possible to lower the price of oil. We are so stupid.”
