The Supreme Leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khamenei, says that any attack on Iran would lead to the disruption of oil supplies through the Straits of Hormuz. I'll let the specialists try to parse the statements and read the tea leaves to try and figure out what is exactly going on inside Iran's political leadership. The simplest analysis is that the statement is what it is, a statement designed to remind everyone of the stakes involved. While it is true that the Iranians could not close the Straits permanently, they certainly could stop the flow for some period of time, until the U.S. Navy eliminated their ability to do so by sinking their navy and destroying their land-based missile sites. A combination of Navy and Air Force planes would quickly do away with their air force. But the damage would already be done, as oil prices would rise to over $100 or $150 a barrel. Thus, the statement is just another reminder that an attack on Iran would lead to far more severe consequences than the historically recent bombing campaigns against countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, or Serbia.

Ed Morrissey reports that Iranian President Ahmadinejad has said he will release the details of the package recently sent to his government by the U.S., Europeans, Russia and China. Morrissey believes that since by doing this he can only make the possibility of fruitful talks more difficult, he is providing more evidence that he really does not want talks to succeed. Morrissey believes that Ahmadinejad really does believe this "Hidden Imam" stuff, and wants to bring about the apocalyptic conditions necessary for the Imam's return.

Theodore Dalrymple says that it might not be possible to have a "moderate" form of Islam. Time will tell. But the example of young Canadians and Britons, in some cases born and raised in the relative wealth and safety of those countries, choosing to embrace the ideology of radical Islam, does not bode well for the future.