BY: Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News
03/03/2005
Iran's military has new anti-ship cruise missiles that give it the capability to threaten the flow of oil in the Persian Gulf, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East said today.
Iran's forces include a navy of small attack boats carrying torpedoes and missiles ``that are well-suited for the restricted confines of the Strait of Hormuz,'' the waterway through which at least 35 percent of the world's oil is shipped, Gen. John Abizaid told the House Armed Services Committee.
Abizaid is head of the U.S. Central Command, which includes the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and some countries of the former Soviet Union. His warning, in a 50-page overview of his region, is the strongest lately from a U.S. official about the potential military threat Iran poses to the world's economy.
About 15 million barrels of oil are shipped daily through the Strait of Hormuz, which separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula and is only 34 miles wide at its narrowest point. The total daily transport of oil worldwide was about 40 million barrels in 2003, the latest figures available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The U.S. and the EU are pressing Iran to abandon its nuclear program. Abizaid's comments, included in his prepared testimony, came as the U.S criticized the United Nations nuclear watchdog over its ability to assure the world that Iran is using atomic technology for peaceful means.
``The IAEA is still not able to provide assurances that Iran is not pursuing clandestine activities at undeclared locations as it has been doing for years,'' U.S. Ambassador Jackie Sanders said today in a statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors in Vienna.
The U.S. accused Iran of ``attempts to hide and mislead'' the international community about its nuclear program. The Islamic nation told IAEA inspectors this week that they couldn't make additional visits to its Parchin military complex.
Diplomats are concerned Iran hasn't fulfilled a pledge to halt uranium processing and is building tunnels near a uranium mine.
Abizaid described a ``new generation of indigenously produced anti-ship missiles and tactical ballistic missiles'' that threaten both oil producing infrastructure and shipping.
``It is important for us to maintain reconnaissance capabilities to monitor these forces,'' he said. The U.S. 5th fleet based in Bahrain will maintain a new Navy Expeditionary Strike Group in the region ``that demonstrates our commitment to unrestricted access to the Gulf's resources,'' he said.
The ``situation with Iran is tense and the possibility for miscalculation high,'' he said without elaboration. ``We will watch Iran carefully to try to prevent any destabilizing activities.'' he said.
