Iran says may hold back oil sales if sent to UN [View All]

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DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil producer, may hold back on oil sales if its nuclear programme is referred to the U.N. Security Council, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview published on Saturday.

Iran has failed to convince the United States and the European Union its nuclear programme is peaceful, prompting the U.N. nuclear watchdog to recommend Tehran be reported to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

Diplomats expect a referral is likely in November. snip

OPEC heavyweight Iran pumps around 4 million barrels per day.

It sees politics and its hydrocarbon resources as intimately linked. Nationalist leader Mohammad Mossadegh, who was ousted in a CIA-backed coup in 1953 after nationalising the British-run oilfields, is an enduring symbol of national pride.