Iran has many straits but if it is trying to cosy up to Saudi Arabia those straits are dire
A mafia? Simon Jenkins, The Guardian, July 23:
Wow … Donald Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has called the rulers of Iran a “mafia more than a government” … (and) a bunch of “hypocritical holy men” who have devised “all kinds of crooked schemes to become some of the wealthiest men on Earth while their people suffer” …
Er, looks like a mafia. Staff and agencies, The Times of Israel, July 23:
Pompeo … said Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi has generated more than $100 million for himself in the illicit trade of sugar … Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani is worth millions after the government transferred several lucrative mines to his foundation … Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has an off-the-books hedge fund … worth $95 billion. “The level of corruption and wealth among regime leaders shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government,” he said.
Many straits! Golnar Motevalli, Bloomberg, July 22:
Iran’s president (Hasan Rowhani said he will seek improved relations with Saudi Arabia but it needs) to “change its actions, let go of obstinacy and be willing to have relations” … “No one who really understands politics would say they will block Iran’s oil exports, and we have many straits, the Strait of Hormuz is just one of those” (he also said.) … He didn’t elaborate on the other “straits” Iran might have … “Mr Trump! We are the honest men who have throughout history guaranteed the safety of this region’s waterways,” (Rowhani) said.
Safety! James Rothwell, The Telegraph, January 13, 2016:
Iran frees 10 US military personnel who were detained after “accidentally” straying into sensitive waters.
Honest! BBC News, December 28, 2011:
(Iran’s vice-president Mohammad) Reza Rahimi warned that “not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz” if sanctions are widened … “The enemies will only drop their plots when we put them back in their place” … (Admiral Sayari said) closing the Strait of Hormuz would be … “easier than drinking a glass of water”.
Mob protection? James Sturcke, The Guardian, March 28, 2007:
Iranian TV tonight broadcast footage of the 15 British sailors and marines seized … Faye Turney, the only woman … apologised for “trespassing” into Iranian waters.
Driven to side with Saudi Arabia to spite Obama! Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency, July 23:
(US) professor Daniel S. Chard said … ‘Trump became president due to an undemocratic peculiarity in the US constitutional system known as the Electoral College’ … Referring to the ultra-conservative, Islamophobic, messianic form of Christianity beliefs of the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo … (Chard said,) ‘Whether for ideological or business motives — or out of spite for Barack Obama — Trump, Pompeo, and a handful of other White House officials … seem driven to side with Saudi Arabia …
Never mind the early-morning capitals, Trump copied our tweet! Islamic Republic News Agency, July 23:
President Trump chose capital letters to convey … his fury … Trump tweeted, using a similar literature that was used earlier by the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif … (which) trended on Twitter under a hash tag. Trump went on to use the bullying words and the rhetoric he uses especially in his early-morning tweets …