TEHRAN (AFP) -Iran has said that it would be prepared to use “any weapon” in the standoff over its nuclear programme but assured world markets it had no intention of cutting off its oil exports.
“The country will use any weapon if neccessary to defend itself,” Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency following the UN Security Council’s imposition of sanctions against Tehran.
“But other countries should not be concerned about Iran cutting off its oil exports to the world market since we are currently signing new deals and there are also ongoing transactions,” he added on Tuesday.
Iran is the world’s fourth largest oil producer and the second largest in the OPEC cartel.