Over the course of the last several months, tensions have been building around the tinderbox that is the Persian Gulf. The United States has been tightening the economic noose around the neck of its nuclear nuisance in Iran. Finally, economic hardship in Iran and inadequate and unequal support from Europe and the rest of the world have both the United States and Iran pushing the limits of provocation. The geopolitical catalyst posed by the U.S. pressure on Iran is a significant one for oil prices because one-fifth of the world’s total oil exports pass through