Iran slams EU oil embargo, warns could hit U.S.

The Islamic Republic, which denies trying to build a nuclear bomb, scoffed at efforts to choke its oil exports, as Asia lines up to buy what Europe scorns.

Some Iranians also renewed threats to stop Arab oil from leaving the Gulf and warned they might strike U.S. targets worldwide if Washington used force to break any Iranian blockade of a strategically vital shipping route.

Yet in three decades of confrontation between Tehran and the West, bellicose rhetoric and the undependable armory of sanctions have become so familiar that the benchmark Brent crude oil price edged only 0.8 percent higher, and some of that was due to unrelated currency factors.

In a letter to the New York Times Mr. Rens Lee writes: " the problem is the prevailing international consensus whereby Israel can possess a nuclear arsenal, while Iran is not allowed to, is indeed a double standard and an obstacle to Middle East peace efforts. Economic sanctions or military action won’t derail Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which date from the time of the shah and reflect the country’s bad geopolitical neighborhood".


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