Iran Refused to Quit Using Oil as Weapon

Iran today refused to rule out using oil supplies as a weapon in the standoff with the United States over its nuclear programme, saying Washington never had excluded attacking the Islamic country.

"When the Americans say that using the military option against Iran regarding its nuclear issue is not off the table then Iran can say that it will not put aside the instrument of oil," Iran's representative to OPEC Hossein Kazempour Ardebili said in an interview with the Shargh newspaper.

Iran's refusal to rule out using oil as a weapon has frequently rattled oil markets, which fear that any squeeze in supplies from OPEC's number two producer could cause a huge jump in prices.