The strong words were the latest in a series of escalating military and diplomatic responses by Iran in recent weeks amid growing pressure from Western powers. On Tuesday, Iran warned the United States that it would take action if an American aircraft carrier that left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz were to return. The United States has said that the threats would not cause it to alter military deployments.
Britain added its voice to the chorus on Thursday, with Defense Secretary Philip Hammond cautioning that any attempt by Iran to close the strait would be “illegal and unsuccessful.” His comments, delivered during his first visit to the Pentagon since he became the top defense minister last fall, appeared to indicate strong resolve by the West to keep the strategically important strait open for trade. “It is in all our interests that the arteries of global trade are kept free, opening and running,” he said, according to news reports.
The official news agency IRNA quoted one senior member of the Iranian Parliament as saying that pressure from “bullying nations” made the country “more resilient.” Press TV, an official Iranian news site, headlined its report with a warning against “saber rattling” by Britain.
Relations between Iran and Britain deteriorated after protesters stormed the British Embassy in Tehran in November. Britain responded by downgrading relations to their lowest level in 20 years, expelling Iranian diplomats from Britain and ordering the Iranian Embassy in London to shut down.
Mixed in the with bluster on Thursday was tacit acknowledgment of the potential economic hardships that stronger sanctions could cause in Iran, where the economy is heavily reliant on oil exports, including through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran will “weather the storm,” Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Thursday, adding that he was “not concerned at all” about the imminent ban on its oil by the European Union. The economic minister, Shamseddin Hosseini, likened the ban to “an economic war.”
“Iran, with divine assistance, has always been ready to counter such hostile actions, and we are not concerned at all about the sanctions,” Mr. Salehi said at a news conference in Tehran. “Just as we have weathered the storm in the last 32 years with the hold of God and efforts that we make, we will be able to survive this as well.”
But he also said that Iran would like to reopen talks with the West on its nuclear program, suggesting that renewed talks be held in Turkey. Mr. Salehi appeared at the news conference with the Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, who said that Iran had responded favorably to the notion of resuming negotiations. That was interpreted by some in Europe as an effort by Iran to buy time to continue its program.
The European Union foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, has been waiting for Iran to respond formally to an October 2011 letter suggesting new rounds of negotiations, which broke off a year ago when Iran presented its own set of preconditions, including a lifting of sanctions, that the West considered unacceptable.
President Obama signed legislation last weekend imposing sanctions against Iran’s central bank intended to make it more difficult for the country to sell its oil. Europe took steps on Wednesday toward an oil embargo on Iran. In 2010, oil from Iran accounted for about 5.8 percent of total European imports of crude.
Steven Erlanger contributed reporting from Paris.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/world/middleeast/iran-calls-threat-of-sanctions-from-european-union-economic-war.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.