Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Thursday that Tehran had never tried to block the Strait of Hormuz but warned its neighbors against putting themselves in a “dangerous position.”
War and Conflict
Iran Warns Arab Neighbors: Don’t Let Yourselves be Dragged into a Dangerous Position by Aligning With the United States
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, used for a third of the world’s seaborne oil trade, if pending Western moves to ban Iranian crude exports cripple its lifeblood energy sector, fanning fears of a descent into wider Middle East war.
European Union foreign ministers are expected at a meeting on Monday to agree on an oil embargo against Iran and a freeze on the assets of its central bank, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, confirming diplomatic leaks.
“We want peace and tranquility in the region. But some of the countries in our region, they want to direct other countries 12,000 miles away from this region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in English during a visit to Turkey.
“I am calling to all countries in the region, please don’t let yourselves be dragged into a dangerous position,” Salehi told Turkey’s NTV broadcaster.
He added the United States should make clear that it was open for negotiations with Tehran without conditions. He referred to a letter Iran says it received from US President Barack Obama about the situation in the Straight of Hormuz, the contents of which have not been made public.
“Mr. Obama sent a letter to Iranian officials, but America has to make clear that it has good intentions and should express that it’s ready for talks without conditions,” he said.
“Out in the open they show their muscles but behind the curtains they plead to us to sit down and talk. America has to pursue a safe and honest strategy so we can get the notion that America this time is serious and ready.”
The United States, like other Western countries, says it is prepared to talk to Iran but only if Tehran agrees to discuss halting its enrichment of uranium. Western officials say Iran has been asking for talks “without conditions” as a stalling tactic while refusing to put its nuclear program on the table.
The US military’s top officer meanwhile headed to Israel Thursday at a time of mounting international anxiety over the possibility of the Jewish state taking military action to keep Tehran from building bombs.
The Israeli and US militaries have postponed large-scale war games, in part to avoid aggravating growing tensions between the international community and Iran, Israeli defense officials said.
A former Israeli military intelligence chief stoked the growing jitters by contending Iran already has all the components to build a nuclear bomb. “If the Iranians get together tonight and decide to secretly develop a bomb, then they have all the resources and components to do so,” Amos Yadlin was quoted Thursday as telling the Maariv daily.
Additional Content via arabnews.com
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Contributed by IBON VILLELABEITIA of Reuters.
