Iran's Rouhani hints at threat to neighbors' exports if oil sales halted

BERN (Reuters) – President Hassan Rouhani appeared on Tuesday to threatening Iran's oil trade with Iranian oil.

The comments, published on Iran's presidential website news conference in Switzerland, could be open to interpretation. However, Rouhani declined to provide a clarification.

Iranian officials in the past have been attacked by the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping road, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action against Iran.

"The Americans have claimed they want to completely stop Iran's oil exports. They do not understand the meaning of this statement, because it has no meaning for Iran, but it is exported, "the website, president.ir, quoted him as saying.

Rouhani said: "Assuming that Iran could become one of the only producers of agricultural products. The United States will be able to cut Iran's oil revenues. "

The United States pulled out of a multinational deal in May to lift sanctions against Iran in return for curbs to its nuclear program. Washington, DC, when it comes to Iranian oil from Nov. 4 or U.S. financial measures, with no exemptions.

Rouhani said the new U.S. pressure would never succeed.

"It is incorrect and one way to imagine that they will be able to export their surplus oil and will not be able to export its oil," he said.

COMMITTED TO DEAL AS LONG AS INTERESTS PRESERVED

The Iranian president is in Europe to gather support ahead of a meeting between Iran and the global powers that are still party to the 2015 nuclear deal.

"Iran will remain committed to the deal, as long as its interests are preserved," Rouhani said. Tehran said its foreign minister would meet counterparts from U.S. allies Britain, France and Germany, as well as Russia and China, in Vienna on Friday to discuss ways of maintaining the nuclear deal.

The five other powers have said they still support the deal despite the U.S. decision to withdraw. Iran has asked the European countries to come up with a new economic package to offset the U.S. sanctions and preserve the agreement.

"At the meeting, which will be held at the request of Iran, foreign ministers of Iran and five world powers will discuss proposed package and measures to protect the agreement," IRNA reported on Tuesday.

The signatories to the deal, minus the United States, have been working on a ministerial meeting in Vienna for the first time.

"For now, that's the plan," EU source said. "The Iranians expect the others to say we are going to keep the deal alive."

"We will have to see if it's going to be good enough for the Iranians," the source added.

The EU's foreign service, the EEAS, was not immediately available for comment on the meeting.

Since President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw, the European Union has been scrambling to ensure that Iran is getting enough money to sell it.

But so far it has proven difficult to offset the impact of continuing U.S. sanctions, with European firms reluctant to risk far-reaching U.S. financial penalties to do business in Iran.

Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, exports about 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.

The White House said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia 's King Salman had promised that it should have been produced by Riyadh, and that Riyadh has 2 million barrels per day of spare capacity.