Stand-off over missile tests as Iran calls for talks with the West

Iran’s state media initially reported, early on Saturday, that long-range missiles had been launched during naval exercises, a move that may irk the West concerned over threats by Tehran to close off a vital oil shipping route in the Gulf.

But rear admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, the deputy commander of Iran’s navy, later appeared on the English language Press TV channel to deny the missiles had in fact been fired.

“The exercise of launching missiles will be carried out in the coming days,” he said.

Ten days of Iranian naval drills have coincided with increased tension over Tehran’s nuclear programme with western powers. The European Union said it was considering a ban – already in place in the United States – on imports from the major oil producer.

Analysts say the conflicting reports on the missile test reminded the West of the consequences of ratcheting up pressure on Iran over its nuclear work, which many believe is aimed at building bombs.

Tehran denies this. “The location and the timing of the drill were very shrewd ... then came reports on launching missiles that can target America’s bases in the region and Israel,” said analyst Hamid Farahvashian. “One of the messages was that you mess with Iran, then you stand to suffer from economic havoc,” he said. “Iranians have always used this method of carrot and stick ... first they used the stick of closing [the Strait of] Hormuz and now the carrot is its willingness for talks.”

An EU spokesman said that the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton wrote to Iran’s nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in October and had not yet received any response. But the EU was open to meaningful talks with Tehran provided that there were no preconditions.

“We continue to pursue our twin-track approach and are open for meaningful discussions on confidence-building measures, without preconditions from the Iranian side,” EU foreign policy spokesman Michael Mann said in an e-mail.

Tehran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if it became the target of an oil embargo over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with countries that are dependent on Gulf oil.

Iranian oil minister Rostam Qasemi said that any imposition of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports would lead to a leap in prices.

“Undoubtedly the price of crude will increase dramatically if sanctions are imposed on our oil ... It will reach over $200 (£130) per barrel,” the Aseman Weekly quoted Qasemi as saying.

Reports on Iran threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz by Iran were enough to send tremors through world markets and cause the price of oil to spike.

Iran’s show of military might in the Gulf was reflected in the scale of the exercises, which Iranian media said were greater than previous war games. However, Iran test-fired its surface-to-surface Shahab-3 missile during 2009 exercises. It is thought to be capable of striking Israel and US bases in the Middle East.

Washington has expressed concern about Tehran’s missiles, which include the Shahab-3 strategic intermediate range ballistic missile with a range of up to 625 miles, the Ghadr-1 with an estimated 1,600 km range and a Shahab-3 variant known as Sajjil-2 with a range of up to 2,400 km.

Iranian media have given massive coverage to the drill, with state television broadcasting live in an apparent attempt to strike a patriotic chord among ordinary Iranians concerned about a military strike.

The US and Israel have not ruled out a military option if diplomacy fails to resolve the nuclear dispute with Iran.