The Bush Administration isn’t the only one raising the stakes and blustering to gain position for the ongoing struggle over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and leverage over events in Iraq.  Iran is on a roll this past week with several announcements of testing new missiles and torpedoes leading to this current statement.  The message is a threat to the world economy by threatening the Straits of Hormuz and the U.S. Navy that patrols it to ensure the free flow of oil tankers through it.  Here’s the quote from Iran regarding the latest missile test (emphasis added):

A top Iranian military official said Tuesday the country can now defend itself against any invasion originating from outside the region - a clear reference to the United States - as it tested a second new radar-avoiding missile.

The new surface-to-sea missile is equipped with remote-control and searching systems, state-run television reported. It said the new missile, called Kowsar after the name of a river in paradise, was a medium-range weapon that Iran had the capability to mass-produce.

It also asserted that the Kowsar’s guidance system could not be scrambled, and it had been designed to sink ships.

Shortly after the test, the chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, warned that Iran was now able to "confront any extra-regional invasion," referring to the United States without mentioning it by name.

An ‘extra-regional invasion’ like a ship from anyone outside the Gulf going through the Straits of Hormuz.  The U.S. Navy for example.  Or oil tankers flying any other flag.   Just in case any foreign diplomats are dense enough not to get the hint, further clarification was added to the bluster:

Safavi also called for foreign forces to leave the region. The U.S. 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain, from where it patrols the Gulf.

"Iran wants durable peace in the Persian Gulf and it can’t be achieved without foreign forces and those which invaded Iraq leaving (the region)," IRNA quoted Safavi as saying.

So to narrow down the message a bit, the Iranians are telling the U.S. and allies to mind their own business, and hurry up leaving the region before it gets even worse off.  And forget stopping Iran from developing its nuclear weapons.

Clearly they are buying the line that the Administration is moving to cut and run from Iraq whether it likes it or not, that domestic politics have made Bush too weak to do anything.  The Iranians have expended considerable effort to make that happen and gotten clean away with it so far, arming terrorists and militias while undermining the new government in Iraq as much as possible while we studiously look the other way as if it isn’t happening and allow them to conduct this clandestine warfare against us.  Why wouldn’t they feel emboldened?  They have proof already that we don’t have enough spine to stand up to them.  So now they’ve decided enough is enough and it is time to execute the finishing moves and drive the weak U.S. out.

Will the Allies respond in any real way to Iran’s threats and continuing active proxy warfare in Iraq?  The U.N. Security Council is stalemated by Russia and China so no further progress is possible there.  All they managed to do was issue another meaningless statement that the Iranians know will never be backed up in any meaningful way.  With the international diplomatic effort to stop Iranian nuclear development dead, the Iranians are moving to exploit the weakness of the exhausted world community to advance their long term plan of dominating the region.

Stopping the spread of the Iranian Islamic fundamentalist revolution was the reason the U.S. supported Saddam back in the 1980’s.  With Saddam gone and Iran succeeding in destabilizing the successor regime it looks like their movement is gaining steam again.  Unless something is done very soon they will be able to threaten and conquer under the shield provided by the threat of nuclear retalition.