Ahmadinejad also told the Khaleej Times that Islam prohibited the use of nuclear arms and reiterated that Iran's nuclear program was peaceful. Posted on 10/01/2005 9:29:06 AM PDT by M. Espinola
Iran could hold back oil sales if it is referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions over its nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a newspaper interview published Saturday.
Ahmadinejad also told the Khaleej Times that Islam prohibited the use of nuclear arms and reiterated that Iran's nuclear program was peaceful.
"If Iran's case is sent to the Security Council, we will respond by many ways, for example by holding back on oil sales," the president told the Dubai-based Khaleej Times.
Iran pumps about 4 million barrels daily, making it the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia.
Crude oil exports normally account for about 80 percent of Iran's hard currency income, and an oil official last month projected revenues from oil exports this year at US$43 billion ( 35 billion).
Ahmadinejad was responding to a resolution passed last month by the International Atomic Energy Agency that put Iran on the verge of referral to the UN Security Council unless Teheran eases suspicions about its nuclear activities.
The president's threat was in addition to others voiced by Iran since the IAEA resolution.
Officials have threatened to resume uranium enrichment and block UN inspections of its nuclear facilities unless the UN nuclear agency stepped back from its resolution. Iran has also threatened to use trade to punish countries that voted for the resolution, and last week the parliament began debating a bill to force the government to scale back cooperation with the IAEA.
Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran's nuclear program was peaceful.
"Our religion prohibits us from having nuclear arms and our religious leader has prohibited it from the point of view of religious law. Its a closed road," he told the newspaper. "I insist we don't need nuclear arms and our laws don't allow us to produce them. We are always acting in accordance with international law."
The president criticized the resolution and foreign countries, however, for trying to impose their will on Iran and said he was determined to fight for Iran's rights to a nuclear fuel supply.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes. The United States and some other countries suspect Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons.
"I said I'll do every thing in order to uphold our national interest," Ahmadinejad said of his campaign promises ahead of the June presidential election. "One of these things is that we will have access to the nuclear supply process. We don't want to be at war with the world, as you see they're trying to impose their will on our country. I have no worries about all that. We will have peace, prosperity and the nuclear supply cycle."
The IAEA resolution ordered Iran to ratify an additional protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in its parliament, suspend all uranium enrichment activities, including uranium conversion, abandon the construction of a heavy water nuclear reactor and grant access to certain locations and documents.
The additional protocol requires any signatory country to report all its nuclear facilities to the IAEA and allow short-noticed intrusive inspections. Iran already allows this but parliament has not yet ratified the additional protocol.
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Please Mullahs do US a huge favour and cut off your only source of income so you loonies will be overthrown quickly.
Sounds like the Germans, French, and Russians will have to give Iran a vigorous ass-kissing.
To paraphrase Monty Python: "all the oil you can eat".
Diplomacy’s red flag
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1494722/posts\
We're going to hold our breath and stomp our feet until you let us have nuclear weapons.....
I say we use the AF and make the decision for them.
If we don't get our way, we will attempt to destabilize global economy. Oh - OK - how about if we just start with you?
I'd like to see their import/export balance sheet - see how long they would last without trade.
Time for the US to get more energy independant -
If you can - I have no agenda other than fuel independance - check out Honda Civic hybrid.
Can you say Green River Oil reserves?
Something loaded with "nuts"?
A group of Iranian Revolutionary Guards march during a military parade to commemorate the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war in Tehran September 22nd, 2005. To cries of 'God is Great', Iran showed off its military might and warned potential aggressors that the Islamic state would vigorously repel any attack. (Raheb Homavandi/Reuters)
Reuters forgot to include the scribbling on those white flags of surrender which is in Farsi. "We Are Morons True & Blue Let Us Surrender To You!"
US could always block oil exports from Iran from Iraq and Afghanistan, even China and Russia wants it. Sanction by political terms is just one of the options. However, I think it would have been better for India and Japan to cast an absent vote remaining neutral to avoid China from gaining access of Iran's oil.
The headline alone got me laughing. Are these guys serious? They think this is a serious threat?
It is what the euroweenies do best. I hear the Mullahs shaved extra close for this.
They cannot do this. Without the revenue from oil, their economy would collapse, followed in short order by the regime.
They know this, so this is an empty threat.
The army of Klanistan?
Bush is a fool if he does not exploit this to the fullest for America becoming energy independent by pushing agenda for domestic exploration, drilling, production, refineries and pipelines.
"Bush is a fool..."
Yup. Cuz he probably won't.
Why everybody is keen for a war against Iran, I don't quite get. Gasoline might go to $6 a gallon here. If that doesn't trigger a recession, we'll be lucky.
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