Every time Iran hiccups, the price of oil goes up. The price of oil is flying to record rates during this latest conflagration of violence in the Middle East. Who benefits when oil is more expensive? Why, Iran, of course.

Iran backs Hezbollah, a terrorist organization. Hezbollah has been launching hundreds of missiles in Israel, and Israel has no choice but to defend itself. Violence in the Middle East sends jitters throughout the market, which drives the price of oil higher and higher.

Others are speculating that this is being done to take attention away from Iran, or it’s Iran sending a message: Don’t mess with us. I don’t deny any of that, but I’m pretty sure one element in Iran’s calculations is the almighty dollar. It’s not a stretch of imagination at all to think that Iran is intentionally trying to destabilize the region in order to drive oil prices up.

EDIT: I wanted to emphasize: One element. The situation is infinitely more complex than my summary, but it would be foolish to think that Iran has no hand in this. Now, I’m more inclined to think that this is merely a pleasant side effect rather than a root cause. Still, I thought it was an interesting, different angle to examine, even if it is probably false.