TEHRAN, Feb 12, (Agencies): Iran’s parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani warned Iran will not forgive Gulf Arab nations if they continue backing US “plots” against Tehran, local media reported on Sunday.
“We recommend to some of the countries in the region who were siding with (Iraq dictator) Saddam (Hussein) and now are siding with the US plots against the Iranian nation to give it up,” he was quoted as saying.

“Iran will not forgive them again. There will be consequences in the region if new plots against our nation are carried out,” Larijani said.

Larijani was referring to the generous financial aid and political support provided by Gulf Arab states, namely Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, to the Iraqi regime during the 1980-1988 war against Iran.
His comments come at a time when the United States and the European Union have imposed new sanctions on Iran’s central bank and oil exports in January over its controversial nuclear programme.
Tehran has called on Saudi Arabia to reconsider a vow to make up for any shortfall in Iran’s oil exports due to these new sanctions, saying Riyadh’s pledge to intervene on the market was unfriendly.
Long-strained ties between Shiite-dominated Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia deteriorated after Saudi-led troops intervened in Sunni-ruled Bahrain in March help the government there crush Shiite-led pro-democracy protests.

The relations worsened late last year following US allegations that a foiled plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington had been hatched in Tehran.

In addition, the Gulf Cooperation Council comprising of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have called on Iran to “stop interfering in the internal affairs” of their nations.
Meanwhile, a senior Chinese diplomat arrived in Tehran on Sunday to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme, amid differences between China and the West over how to resolve the dispute it has caused.

The semi-official ISNA news agency said China’s assistant foreign minister, Ma Zhaoxu, met a member of the Supreme Council of National Security, Ali Baqeri, for talks on Iran’s stalled nuclear talks with six world powers, as well as bilateral ties.

The agency quoted Ma as saying China was interested in accelerating talks between Iran and the P5+1 group, comprising the United States, France, Germany, China, Russia and Britain.

In another development, Iranian authorities will crack down this week on any public protest against the year-long house arrest of opposition leaders, Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, an official was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Iran, at odds with the West over its disputed nuclear programme, holds a parliamentary election on March 2, its first national poll since Mousavi and Karoubi were beaten by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a 2009 vote they said was rigged.

The government denied any fraud in the election, which ignited eight months of street protests, prompting a violent state response and deep splits in the ruling establishment.

The two leaders were placed under house arrest on Feb 14 last year after they urged their supporters to join a rally in support of popular uprisings across the Arab world.

In Manama, the top US Navy official in the Arabian Gulf said Sunday he takes Iran’s military capabilities seriously but insists his forces are prepared to confront any Iranian aggression in the region.

Vice Adm Mark Fox, commander of the 5th Fleet, told reporters at the naval force’s Bahrain headquarters that the Navy has “built a wide range of potential options to give the president” and is “ready today” to confront any hostile action by Tehran.

He did not outline specifically how the Navy might respond to an Iranian strike or an effort to shut the entrance to the Arabian Gulf, though any response would likely involve the two US aircraft carriers and other warships cruising the waters off Iran.

“We’ve developed very precise and lethal weapons that are very effective, and we’re prepared,” Fox said. “We’re just ready for any contingency.”

Faced with tightening Western sanctions, Iranian officials have stepped up threats to close the Strait of Hormuz if the country’s oil exports are blocked. A fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the narrow waterway, which is only about 30 miles (50 kms) across at its narrowest point.

Iran and Oman share control of the waterway, but it is considered an international strait, meaning free passage is guaranteed.

Iran’s army chief, Gen Ataollah Salehi, early last month warned an American warship not to return to the Gulf shortly after the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and another vessel left. Another carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, entered the Gulf without incident on Jan 22.

Fox acknowledged that Iran’s military is “capable of striking a blow” against American forces in the Gulf, particularly using unconventional means such as small attack boats or mines laid along shipping lanes.
“We’re not bulletproof. There are people that can take a swipe at us,” Fox said.

But he added that he has reminded officers under his command that they “have a right and an obligation of self defense” if attacked.

The admiral’s comments echo those of other Western officials, who say they will respond swiftly to any Iranian attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz.

Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” last month that Iranian forces could block shipping through the strait “for a period of time,” but added, “We can defeat that.”

Fox’s command encompasses the bulk of the Middle East, including the Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf and a large swath of the Indian Ocean along the east African coast. There are about 25,000 sailors under his command.