Iran could turn off oil tap

Toronto Sun:

'Will use any means' in nuclear dispute'

By AP

Sun, March 12, 2006

TEHRAN -- Iran explicitly warned for the first time yesterday that it could use oil as a weapon if the UN Security Council imposes sanctions over its nuclear program. Later in the day, Russia is pushing for a new round of international talks to be held away from UN headquarters, apparently hoping to head off a showdown in the council.

Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi raised the possibility of using oil as a weapon in the standoff and noted Iran's strategic location at a chokepoint for the Persian Gulf oil route.

"If (they) politicize our nuclear case, we will use any means. We are rich in energy resources. We have control over the most sensitive energy route of the world," he said.

Iran -- the No. 2 producer after Saudi Arabia -- lies on one side of the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for most of the crude oil shipped from the Persian Gulf nations.