BREAKING NEWS

Iranian Minister: We may use oil as political tool

DUBAI - Iran could use oil as a political tool in the event of any future conflict over its nuclear program, Iran's energy minister told Al Jazeera television.
Tension over Iran's nuclear program has increased since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Nov. 8 that Tehran appears to have worked on designing a bomb and may still be pursuing research to that end.
Iran has warned it will respond to any attack by hitting Israel and US interests in the Gulf and analysts say Tehran could hit Western interests by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's oil passes.
"We don't consider crude oil as a political tool, however if necessary, we'll use it as a tool any way we need to," Rostam Qasemi said in response to a question in an interview translated into English by the Qatar-based news channel.