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Iran Threatens To Use Oil As Weapon In Nuclear Row

March 11, 2006 -- Iran's interior minister, Hojatoleslam Mustafa Pur-Mohammadi, has made a veiled threat to disrupt world oil supplies if the UN Security Council imposes sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The Iranian state news agency IRNA quotes the minister as saying that, if the nuclear case is politicized, the international community would be harmed more than Iran.

He noted that Iran is rich in energy resources, and has control of "the most sensitive energy route of the world" -- a reference to the Straits of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on March 11 for a diplomatic solution to the standoff, and he urged Tehran to cooperate with the UN.

The United States has rebuffed a Russian proposal to hold crisis talks on Iran prior to any action by the UN Security Council. It says the next round of talks on Iran would be those at the Council next week.

(compiled from agency reports)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org