An IRGC commander has called on Islamic countries to use oil as a weapon to end the fighting in Gaza, echoing a similar call days earlier by lawmakers in Bahrain
The demands by Brig.-Gen. Mir-Feysal Bagherzadeh highlight the threat posed by Israel's offensive to oil prices, which recently fell to their lowest levels in years.
Benchmark light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $1.36 to $47.70 a barrel early Monday (January 5), after earlier jumping to as high as $48.68, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Traders say that fighting in the Middle East is partly behind the rise.
Bagherzadeh called oil "a strong factor of pressure" on supporters of Israel in the current fighting.
Bagherzadeh, who is in charge of war memorials and is not among the country's top oil officials, noted the West's dependence on energy resources from the Muslim world and called for a cut in crude exports to supporters of Israel.
Iran's foreign ministry did not appear to distance itself from the comments when asked about them Monday.
Source: Fars, Iran, January 6, 2009
