Iran warns US of oil supply disruption

Energy flows in the region would be endangered if the United States makes the wrong move towards Iran, the Iranian supreme leader has said. 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in speech broadcast on state television on Sunday: "If you make a wrong move regarding Iran, definitely the energy flow in this region will be seriously endangered." Iranian officials have in the past ruled out using oil as a weapon in the country's nuclear standoff with the West, but Khamenei's comments suggested the world's fourth largest oil exporter could disrupt supplies if pushed. "You [the US] are not capable of securing energy flows in this region," he said in a speech to mark the anniversary of the death of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic.

Khamenei did not explicitly refer to enrichment in his speech but he said: "We are committed to our national interests and whoever threatens it will experience the sharpness of this nation's anger." He also praised the efforts of the country's nuclear scientists in developing home-grown nuclear technology. Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, is expected to hand over to Tehran incentives agreed by six world powers to persuade it to abandon plans to make nuclear fuel. Iran has said enriching uranium for fuel is a national right.