The commander of the Revolutionary Guards said Iran would impose controls on shipping in the vital Gulf oil transit route if the Islamic Republic came under attack, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Speculation about a possible attack on Iran because of its disputed nuclear ambitions has risen since a report this month said Israel had practiced such a strike.

“Naturally every country under attack by an enemy uses all its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy. Regarding the main route for exiting energy, Iran will definitely act to impose control on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz,” commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari told Jam-e Jam newspaper.

Iranian officials have in the past sent mixed signals about whether it would use oil as a weapon in any confrontation. Tension between Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, and the West and Israel over its nuclear plans have been one factor helping prop up sky-high oil prices.

The Islamic Republic insists its nuclear programme is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity. But the West and Israel fear Iran is seeking to build atomic bombs. Israel is believed to be the only Middle East state with nuclear arms. Washington has said it wants diplomacy to end the nuclear row but has not ruled out military action should that fail.

“If there is a confrontation between us and the enemy from outside the region, definitely the scope will reach the oil issue,” Jafari said. “After this action, the oil price will rise very considerably and this is among the factors deterring the enemies,” he said.

The US has military stationed in the area, including Iran’s neighbors Iraq and Afghanistan. Tehran has often said US troops should withdraw to let regional countries handle their own security.

“If enemies from outside the region use the soil of regional countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran...the governments of those countries will be responsible and it is our obvious right to act in the same way against their military capabilities and abilities of enemies anywhere,” Jafari said.

By India Times, 06/28/2008