Iran Willing to Unleash Oil Weapon

TEHRAN: A senior Iranian official says Iran is prepared to stop oil exports to countries supporting Israel, but he says such an embargo could be effective only if other countries do the same.

The statement from Iran's parliament speaker, Mehdi Karroubi, came a day after neighboring Iraq said it is suspending its oil exports for 30 days in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Karroubi made no direct reference to Iraq's action. He was quoted by Iran's state-run news agency at a Tehran demonstration by Iranian legislators in support of the Palestinians.

Saudi Arabia, the top oil producer in the OPEC cartel, has said it will guarantee secure oil supplies, despite calls for a protest stoppage by fellow OPEC members Iran, Iraq and Libya.

Kuwait and Qatar also say they reject using oil as a political weapon, saying that would be harmful to the Arabs themselves.

Last Friday, Iran's supreme religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei called for Islamic oil-producing states to launch a "symbolic" one-month embargo on Western countries to pressure them to stop supporting Israel amid its current military offensive in the West Bank.