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Iran threatens to withhold oil sales

DUBAI (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES): Iran could hold back oil sales if it is referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions over its nuclear programme, said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a newspaper interview published on Saturday.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also told the Khaleej Times that Islam prohibited the use of nuclear arms and reiterated that Iran's nuclear programme was peaceful.

``If Iran's case is sent to the Security Council, we will respond by many ways, for example by holding back on oil sales,'' he told the Dubai-based paper.

Iran pumps about 4 million barrels daily, making it the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia.

Crude oil exports normally account for about 80 per cent of Iran's hard currency income, and an oil official last month projected revenues from oil exports this year at $43 billion. — AP

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