Iran blocks fuel for Afghanistan as tit for tat for Stuxnet

Iran has blocked thousands of fuel trucks from crossing into Afghanistan as its initial reprisal for US fuel sanctions and the US-Israeli partnership reported by the US media in planting the Stuxnet virus in its nuclear production systems, debkafile's military and intelligence sources report. More Iranian retribution is ahead.

In the last week of December, Iran began its blockade by stalling some 2,500 trucks on the border. Since roughly one-third of Afghanistan's gasoline and diesel consumption comes from Iran, the blockade has sent prices soaring by up to 70 percent.
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US and NATO forces in Afghanistan which have been relying on the Iranian fuel shipped to Afghanistan have been forced to look for other sources of supply.
Our military sources report that the fuel shortage caused by the Iranian blockade and insurgent attacks on fuel convoys coming in from Pakistan are beginning to show their mark on the US-led war effort, slowing it down and diverting NATO to covering the Afghan population's heating needs in a particularly harsh winter. The average Afghan cannot find enough heating oil and when he does, he can't afford to pay for it.
Stormy anti-Iranian protest rallies have taken place in Kabul and Herat near the Iranian border.

Tuesday, Afghan businessmen, urged by President Hamid Karzai and American commanders, declared a boycott on business with neighboring Iran until the thousands of fuel trucks are allowed to cross.

The boycott resolution by the Afghan Chamber of Commerce is mostly symbolic since it is unlikely the eastern Afghans whose livelihood depends on trade with Iran will hold out for long.