THE BIG STORY-TEHRAN WARNS WEST OF MAJOR OIL CRISIS
The Iranian government warned the West on Thursday that sanctions
over its controversial
nuclear programme could provoke a world oil crisis. Oil minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari told that one of the consequences will the unleashing of a crisis in the oil sector and particularly a price hike.
Moscow and the West are divided on how to deal with Iran, which is accused by Western capital of using a civilian atomic power project to mask secret nuclear weapon plans.
The United States and European Union are pushing for Tehran to be hauled before the UN Security Council, a development that could lead to attempts to impose sanctions against Iran.
Russia, which is Iran's main partner in the growing civil nuclear programme, has been trying to steer away from a show-down at the UN, China, which like Russia has veto power in the UNSC, has also opposed such a step.
The crisis escalated after Iran's resumption last week of uranium enrichment research which had been suspended for two years under deals with the Europeans.
Britain, France and Germany have called for an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on February 2.
Iran insists it is not seeking to build nuclear weapons and that it has full rights to build an atomic energy network.
Iran argues that it wants only to make reactor fuel to generate electricity and has the right to do so as a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but the West fears that Iran could extend the enrichment process to making weapons.
In the latest indication of Russian attempts to find a middle say, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Wednesday that Moscow wants the United Nations Security Council to hold informal discussions on the crisis, apparently to buy time.
Under that proposal, Russia would enrich Iran's uranium on Russian soil, thereby allowing Iran to run a nuclear power programme, while ensuring that the fuel could not be diverted to a covert weapons programme.
However, MrSolana said that Russia's call for informal talks had little chance of winning support from Washington and the European Union.
Britain, France and Germany, backed by the United States, want the IAEA to refer Iran's call for a return to direct talks, unless there is a return to the fuel cycle suspension.