Sorry about the cut and paste, but this has been pressing on my mind for a while and was wondering if any body else had the same concern or could even alleviate mine. My judgement says that Iran has the support of both Russia and China, not because of their diplomatic offerings that they have the right to pursue nuclear energy, but because Iran is able to send it's oil to these two countries that are continuously needing more for their growing economies. I beleive we have passed the peak oil point, some time ago, and along with that, we are seeing China purchasing all sorts of commodities, driving the price of everything higher (copper, steel, gold, etc.). My concern is that if we engage in a conflict with Iran, which is what some of the rhetoric suggests is inevitable, will we by default, be striking against China and Russia (China having the largest standing army and the Russians happy to sell arms to Iran)?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/world/middleeast/30iran.html