Iran will respond to any oil, military threats: Khamenei

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America

Saturday, 04 February 2012

Author / Source : AFP

TEHRAN, Feb 3: Iran has its “own threats” to respond to any military attack or sanctions against its oil exports, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday. “In response to threats of oil embargo and war, we have our own threats which will be implemented at the right time, if necessary,” he said in a televised speech as he led traditional Friday prayers in Tehran.
His comments came amid heightened speculation that Israel—with or without US help—was contemplating air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. The West has also ramped up sanctions aimed at severely curbing Iran’s vital oil exports.
Khamenei, who spoke as part of events marking the anniversary of his country’s 1979 Islamic revolution, focused on warnings by arch-foe the United States that it was mulling “all options”—including war—to undercut Iran’s nuclear programme.
“They have threatened that all ‘options are on the table’... Threats of war are detrimental to the United States, and carrying out a war would be 10 times more detrimental for that country,” he said.
Another report adds: A top Chinese newspaper stepped up Beijing’s opposition to a Western push for tighter sanctions against Iran, warning Friday that tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program are hurting energy markets and could stifle the global economic recovery.
China’s criticism of tighter sanctions on Iran, designed to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, appeared in the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party.
It comes a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Beijing to use its influence to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program.
“The global economy is in the midst of a difficult economic recovery and reducing the shocks of uncertainties is the common responsibility of countries all over the world,” the People’s Daily commentary said.
“In the near term, the sudden spike in tensions between the United States and Iran is now posing the greatest uncertainty. This factor is disrupting global energy markets and has cast a shadow over the global economic recovery.”
The commentary appeared under the pen-name of “Zhong Sheng,” which in Chinese sounds like “Voice of the Centre” or “Voice of China,” suggesting it reflects high-level government views.
China, the world’s second-largest crude consumer, has long opposed unilateral sanctions that target Iran’s energy sector and has tried to reduce tensions that could threaten its oil supply.
The energy tensions are a particular worry for China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil. Only Saudi Arabia and Angola sell more crude to China than Iran.
Escalating tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program—which have led to Iranian threats to close the vital Straits of Hormuz Gulf oil export route—have pushed up Brent crude prices by about 9 percent since mid-December.
Thursday, at a joint media briefing after what Germany’s Merkel described as “long discussions” about Iran, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao appeared to reject the pressure to do more.
He said Beijing objected to Western nations politicizing the “normal commercial relationship” it has with the Islamic Republic (of Iran), echoing language that China has used before. Merkel, who is in China on a three-day visit, said on Thursday she hoped the U.N. Security Council could pass a unanimous resolution on the Iran issue.
The United States imposed the harshest sanctions on Iran when President Barack Obama signed into law sanctions on transactions involving Iran’s central bank on December 31.     AFP