The taxpayer-funded, left-wing National Public Radio (NPR) suggested that if the United States lifted sanctions on Iran’s oil operations, it could help lessen the cost of energy for U.S. consumers.
“So energy prices were already high before the Russian invasion. Have they gotten worse since?” Weekend Edition All Things Considered Host Michel Martin asked a reporter.
“Yeah,” the reporter answered. “Oil prices spiked initially. They went above $100 a barrel very quickly for the first time since 2014, then they calmed back down. They settled at about $98 on Friday. Trading paused for the weekend, and it’s just starting again in some parts of the world. And I have to say, the only word for this moment on these markets is uncertainty.”
Martin claimed the “worst fears for energy markets have not played out” because, the reporter confirmed, the U.S. has yet to halt Russia’s oil operations — including imports to the United States.
“That’s not to say that we have a dependence on Russia,” Daleep Singh, economic adviser for the White House, said at a briefing last week. “Russia depends on those revenues just as much as the world needs its energy. But we’re not going to do anything which causes an unintended disruption to the flow of energy, as the global economic recovery is still underway.”
The reporter said the Biden administration wants to solve high gas prices and other energy costs by getting OPEC+ to produce more oil, which it has refused to do.
And then, the reporter suggested that appeasing Iran could also help with energy costs.
“Last but not least, there’s the possibility of a new nuclear deal with Iran,” she 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.”
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