Iran tells U.S. allies it will escalate crisis if hit with U.N. sanctions
By Jonathan S. Landay
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Iran has privately threatened Britain, France and Germany that it will escalate the crisis over its nuclear program "beyond Europe's control" in retaliation for any steps the U.N. Security Council takes to force it to abandon uranium enrichment.
Iranian diplomats delivered the warning orally in meetings Monday with foreign ministry officials in London, Berlin and Paris, said a U.S. official and a Western diplomat who spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
It was left unclear how or whether the Islamic regime would fulfill its threat. Germany and France are Iran's largest trading partners.
The Iranians could resort to the same measures they could use to carry out a threat to cause "harm and pain" to the United States, including terrorism and disruptions of global petroleum supplies. Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil producer.
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