TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani appeared on Tuesday to threaten todisrupt oil shipments from neighbouring countries if Washington pressesahead with its goal of forcing all countries to stop buying Iranian oil.

The comments, published on Iran’s presidential website on Tuesday andpartially repeated at a later news conference in Switzerland, could be opento interpretation. However, when asked whether he intended to make athreat, Rouhani declined to provide a clarification. Iranian officials inthe past have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oilshipping route, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action against Iran.”The Americans have claimed they want to completely stop Iran’s oilexports. They don’t understand the meaning of this statement, because ithas no meaning for Iranian oil not to be exported, while the region’s oilis exported,” the website, president.ir, quoted him as saying.

When asked at a news conference in Bern later on Tuesday whether thosecomments constituted a threat to interfere with the shipping ofneighbouring countries, Rouhani said: “Assuming that Iran could become theonly oil producer unable to export its oil is a wrong assumption … TheUnited States will never be able to cut Iran’s oil revenues.” The UnitedStates pulled out of a multinational deal in May to lift sanctions againstIran in return for curbs to its nuclear programme. Washington has sincetold countries they must halt all imports of Iranian oil from Nov. 4 orface U.S. financial measures, with no exemptions.

Rouhani said the new U.S. pressure would never succeed. “It is incorrectand unwise to imagine that some day all producer countries will be able toexport their surplus oil and Iran will not be able to export its oil,” hesaid.

COMMITTED TO DEAL AS LONG AS INTERESTS PRESERVED

The Iranian president is in Europe to gather support ahead of a meetinglater this week between Iran and the five global powers that are stillparty to the 2015 nuclear deal. “Iran will remain committed to the deal, aslong as its interests are preserved,” Rouhani said. Tehran said its foreignminister would meet counterparts from U.S. allies Britain, France andGermany, as well as Russia and China, in Vienna on Friday to discuss waysof maintaining the nuclear deal.

The five other powers have all said they still support the deal despite theU.S. decision to withdraw. Iran has asked the European countries to come upwith a new economic package to offset the U.S. sanctions and preserve theaccord. “At the meeting, which will be held at the request of Iran, foreignministers of Iran and five world powers will discuss a proposed Europeanpackage and measures to protect the agreement,” Iranian state news agencyIRNA reported on Tuesday.

The signatories to the deal, minus the United States, have been working ona ministerial meeting in Vienna for weeks and the date has slipped severaltimes since preparations began. “For now, that’s the plan,” an EU sourcesaid. “The Iranians expect the others to say what we are going to do tokeep the deal alive.” “We will have to see if it is going to be good enoughfor the Iranians,” the source added.

The EU’s foreign service, the EEAS, was not immediately available forcomment on the meeting. Since President Donald Trump’s decision to withdrawin May, calling the agreement deeply flawed, European states have beenscrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it tomaintain the nuclear curbs required in the deal.

But so far it has proven difficult to offset the impact of continued U.S.sanctions, with European firms reluctant to risk far-reaching U.S.financial penalties to do business in Iran. Iran, the third-largestproducer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, exportsabout 2 million barrels of crude oil per day. The White House said onSaturday that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman had promised Trump that he canraise oil production if needed, and that Riyadh has 2 million barrels perday of spare capacity.