Iran vows not to use oil as weapon

IranMania:

Iran will not reduce its oil exports to use as a weapon in its nuclear row with the West, its deputy oil minister said on Wednesday, AFP reported.

"Iran does not intend to use oil as a weapon to fight nuclear pressures," Iran's state television quoted Hadi Nejad-Hoseinian as saying. READ MORE

Iran has been reported to the UN Security Council, where it could face sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme, which the West fears is a cover for weapons ambitions.

The second largest OPEC producer, Iran says it wants nuclear technology simply for civilian purposes, to meet its energy needs.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said, however, that Iran had the upper hand when it came to enduring any eventual sanctions.

"Energy is a matter for the West ... any decision in this regard will not hurt us. It will hurt the consumers and not the producers," he said earlier this month.

Iran's economy is state-dominated and largely kept afloat by crude sales.