Iran launches new military exercises

BY ALI AKBAR DAREINI | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard began military exercises Saturday in the country’s south, the latest show of force after threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for tougher Western sanctions.

The latest military maneuvers got under way following stern warnings by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, about any possible U.S. or Israeli attacks against Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Western forces also have boosted their naval presence in the Gulf led by the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Iranian officials and lawmakers repeatedly have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in retaliation for sanctions that affect Iran’s oil exports. But they have as yet made no attempts to disrupt shipping through the waterway, the route for one-fifth of the world’s crude oil, and the U.S. and allies have warned they would respond swiftly to any attempts at a blockade.

Last month, Iran rolled out its troops and arsenals in an unprecedented display of military readiness, with 10 days of naval maneuvers that included the first threats to block Gulf oil tankers. Ground forces also were sent on winter war games — against what a Tehran military spokesman called a “hypothetical enemy” — with U.S. forces just over the border in Afghanistan.

Plans for new Iranian naval games in the Persian Gulf off the country’s southern coast have been in the works for weeks.

Iranian state media reported the new maneuvers near Jiroft, 745 miles south of the capital Tehran. No more details were available, but it appeared they were small-scale exercises and not linked to the planned major naval maneuvers near the Strait of Hormuz, which funnels down to a waterway no wider than 30 miles at the mouth of the Gulf.

Khamenei, in a speech broadcast nationally on Friday, staked out a hard line after suggestions by Israel that military strikes are an increasing possibility if sanctions fail to rein in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

He pledged to aid any nation or group that challenges Israel and said any military strikes would damage U.S. interests in the Middle East “10 times” more than they would hurt Iran. The comments also may signal that Tehran’s proxy forces — led by Lebanon’s Islamic militant group Hezbollah — could be given the green light to revive attacks on Israel as the showdown between the archfoes intensifies.

The West and its allies fear Iran could use its uranium enrichment labs — which make nuclear fuel — to eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran insists it only seeks reactors for energy and medical research.

So far, the West is relying primarily on the threat of economic sanctions to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.

Tehran has claimed the most recent move — EU sanctions approved on Jan. 23, which include an oil embargo and the freezing of central bank assets — will be ineffective, while members of Iran’s parliament say they have drafted a bill which would cut off the flow to Europe early, before it can find alternative suppliers.

Iran’s Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi, said Saturday the Islamic Republic would “definitely” cut off oil to “hostile” European countries, without specifying which ones they were.

He reiterated Iran’s argument the EU oil embargo will not cripple Iran’s economy, claiming the country already has identified new customers to replace the loss in European sales that accounted for about 18 percent of Iran’s exports.

“We’ve made the necessary planning to deal with that. We have friends in the world and will assist each other,” he said. “We won’t back down a single step under political pressures and won’t give up our right position even if we can’t sell a single barrel of oil.”

In contrast, he said, the ban would rebound on oil consumers. “If Iran’s oil is totally deleted from the market, then a terrible tension will be created. The costs will be intolerable,” he said.