Iran

Following this weekend's escalation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in which both sides managed to infuriate each other to a degree that brought diplomatic relations between the two to levels not seen since 1980, one thing was certain: the escalation has only just begun; after all, there is no point in severing diplomatic ties with Iran, and thus thrusting OPEC into complete chaos, if Iran does not at least curb its production on its own, one way or another.

Back in October, Iran put the Obama administration in a tough spot. Tehran test-fired a next generation, surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

"The Saudis are preparing for Iran’s return," said Mohamed Sadegh Memarian, who recently retired as the head of petroleum market analysis at Iran’s oil ministry, as they sharply cut the prices they charge for crude oil in Europe (to the biggest discount since Feb 2009). The move that will likely undercut Iran happens as sectarian tensions escalate between the rival Middle Eastern nations.

U.S. neocons are livid over a report that U.S. intelligence spied on Israeli efforts to sabotage the Iran nuclear talks, though they are curiously silent on evidence that Israel spies on the U.S. Ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar says it would be a mistake to let this pressure blind U.S. leaders on what Israel is up to.…

Earlier today, in the course of documenting the Mid-East melee that’s set to unfold amid a worsening diplomatic crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia, we noted that two Sunni mosques were attacked in Iraq on Sunday.

“The attack on the Ammar bin Yasir mosque in central Hilla destroyed its dome and several walls,” Reuters reported. “Another mosque in Hilla's northern outskirts, al-Fath al-Mubeen, was also attacked,” sources said.