Iran threatens to cut off Gulf oil
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani struck a defiant stance against US sanctions yesterday, renewing his threat to cut off international oil sales from the Gulf.
"America should know... it is not capable of preventing the export of Iran's oil," Rouhani said at a televised rally in Semnan province.
"If it ever tries to do so... no oil will be exported from the Persian Gulf," he added.
Since the 1980s, Iran has said repeatedly it would blockade the Gulf in response to international pressure but has never carried out the threat.
Washington has re-imposed sanctions, including an oil embargo, since withdrawing from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in May.
It has vowed to reduce Iran's oil sales to zero, but has granted temporary waivers to eight countries.
Meanwhile, diplomats said yesterday UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors at the request of France and Britain after they accused Iran of test-firing a medium-range missile at the weekend.
The United States said the missile launch on Saturday was a violation of a UN resolution that endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which Washington has withdrawn.
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