Iran's been careful to dangle it's massive oil supply in the West's face as it threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz, but no matter what the country ends up doing, we've got a backup plan. Reuters spoke to a number sources from the major Western powers, including some at the International Energy Agency, who say they "discussed Thursday an existing plan to release up to 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of government-owned oil stored in the United States, Europe, Japan and other importers." This is frankly why those oil reserves are there. This doesn't mean that Iran's threats are entirely empty. "This [plan] would form a necessary and sensible response to a closure of the strait,"  one European diplomat told Reuters. He added in a blandly foreboding-sounding tone, "The IEA is monitoring the situation very closely, and is fairly concerned about it."

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Adam Clark Estes