Tehran (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Iran announced that it has tested a new weapon capable of sinking ships nearly 200 miles away, and reiterated threats to close a strategic waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf – the crossroads for the International petrol trade - if attacked. Up to 40% of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage along Iran's southern coast. If Tehran shut down tanker traffic there, oil prices could be expected to skyrocket.

The announcement comes one day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Syria, where president al-Assad guaranteed collaboration in the nuclear crises.  During the summit Ahmadinejad reiterated that Tehran "will not give an inch on its nuclear rights”, underlining that their uranium enrichment program for civilian purposes will go ahead as programmed.  Moreover he defended the “seriousness” of his commitment to negotiations: “We want the talks to be based on the law so it will bear practical results. We hope that other sides are serious too”.

Tehran’s position was reaffirmed on the same day the international community’s ultimatum of economic incentives in exchange for Iran’s abandoning its nuclear ambitions expired.  The Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, one of the candidates tipped to lead the next government has demanded “fresh sanctions” from the International community and has not excluded the use of “all possible solutions” to avoid any Iranian threat.

Next week Ahmadinejad travels to Turkey to seek collaboration on the nuclear issue and strengthen bilateral ties.  The Iranian president will meet with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul on August 14th; for some time now Ankara has been offering its services as mediator between Iran and Western nations, given the good diplomatic relations it enjoys with both sides.