Saturday, Jan 14, 2012
Gulf News
Dubai The United States has warned Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that blocking the strategic Strait of Hormuz was a “red line,” and would provoke a response.
Officials, who spoke to the New York Times, declined to describe the secret channel of communication used to deliver the message.
Iran has threatened to close the waterway linking the Arabian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, through which 20 per cent of the world’s daily oil trade is shipped, in the event of a military strike or the tightening of international sanctions. Iran’s threat was coupled with military exercises in the channel this month.
The main concern for US naval officials was that an overzealous captain of the naval forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards could take provocative action on his own and spark a confrontation, the New York Times reported. The US and its allies have stepped up increasingly harsh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear enrichment programme.
Tensions have flared in recent days following the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist on Wednesday. The Tehran funeral of the scientist saw the ruling clergy urge Iranians to rally behind it at a forthcoming election and face down western threats against Iran’s nuclear programme.
In a mood of high emotion in a city increasingly beset by US and European sanctions and fears of war with Israel and the West, hundreds of mourners carried the flag-draped coffin of Mustafa Ahmadi Roshan, killed on Wednesday by a motorcycle assassin in rush-hour traffic. “Death to America! Death to Israel!” roared the crowd streaming away from weekly prayers at Tehran University. Meanwhile, Iran has welcomed a new round of talks with world powers on its nuclear programme, days after the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Tehran had started to enrich uranium at 20 per cent.
“Our Turkish friends want the next nuclear talks to be held in Istanbul and we welcome it,” said parliament speaker Ali Larijani, who is visiting Turkey.
A team from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency is scheduled to visit Iran later this month to inspect the controversial Fordo site.
Gulf News Report
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