The UK Guardian reported yesterday that Rostam Ghasemi joined President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s cabinet last week and has been approved by the Iranian parliament.  Rostam Ghesemi is a senior Iranian revolutionary guards commander targeted by international sanctions.  As the new head of Iran’s oil ministry, he automatically takes over the presidency of Opec (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), which controls the flow and price of oil around the world.  Great. 

The article reports:

“As its second-largest crude oil exporter, Iran took the presidency of Opec after 36 years last October and Ghasemi’s position will give the revolutionary guards a unique opportunity to influence an international organisation.”

This is not a surprise to anyone who watches Iran closely.  The revolutionary guard plays a major role in all economic activity in Iran.  Any westerner doing business with Iran has probably come into contact with the revolutionary guard, although they may not have been aware of it.

This is not good news for western countries.  The news underlines the need for western countries to develop their own sources of energy apart from the Middle East.