| | Iran warns it could 'easily' close oil route
Escalated rhetoric comes as Iran spurns nuke deadline
The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued an apparent warning that the country could easily cut off a key Persian Gulf shipping route.
According to unofficial state media, Iran has tested a naval missile capable of destroying any ship within 190 miles.
"The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has recently tested a naval weapon with a 300 km range in which no vessel would be safe and would be sent to the depths," IRGC Commander-in-Chief Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted as saying by the Fars News Agency. (Warning: Link will resize browser window.)
Iran's supposed "unique in the world" weapon could allow it to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping lane and the site of two recent reported showdowns between US and Iranian ships.
"Enemies know that we are easily able to block the Strait of Hormuz for unlimited period", Jafari said. "The strait and vessels are in range of our various weapons."
"In view of the proximity of the Strait of Hormuz ... to our shores, this distance is within the range of an assortment of weapons and its closure for us is very feasible and we face no limitations from the point of view of time," he said.
The New York Times notes that such rhetoric needs to be taken with a grain of salt, after its claims surrounding a recent missile test were revealed to be overstated. The paper says Iran's recent saber rattling follows reports of talks between Tehran and a European Union representative and the expiration of a deadline in the continuing showdown between Iran and the West over its alleged nuclear weapon ambitions.
It was unclear what provoked the warning, made by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, but it followed the weekend expiration of an informal deadline for Iran to respond to incentives from world powers to curb its uranium enrichment activities. The United States, which has warships deployed in the Persian Gulf, has said new sanctions should be imposed on Iran for failing to respond to the deadline.
The Iranian warning coincided with word that Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, spoke by phone on Monday with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. Mr. Solana was expected to report back on the conversation to the representatives of the six countries — the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany — that are leading the demands that Iran stop enriching uranium, Agence France-Presse reported. ...
Iran dismissed the deadline and on Saturday President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that Iran would not move an inch on its nuclear rights, although he said it welcomed talks.
President Bush has not ruled out a nuclear strike aimed at Iran before he leaves office in January, although observers see the chance of such a strike waning. Israel also has been preparing for possible military maneuvers aimed at Iran, with the Israeli Air Force reportedly conducting drills aimed at striking Iranian nuclear targets.
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