Iran's Zarif threatens 'consequences' over oil sanctions

NEW YORK - The United States must be prepared for consequences if it tries to stop Iran from selling oil and using the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned on Wednesday, while also offering to negotiate prisoner swaps with Washington.

Oil prices hit their highest level since November on Tuesday after Washington's announcement that it would end the waivers of sanctions on purchases of Iranian oil.

The United States on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers, most of them in Asia, to continue importing limited volumes.

"We believe that Iran will continue to sell its oil. We will continue to find buyers for our oil and we will continue to use the Strait of Hormuz as a safe transit passage for the sale of our oil," Zarif told an event at the Asia Society in New York.

Reinforcing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's stance, Zarif warned: "If the United States takes the crazy measure of trying to prevent us from doing that, then it should be prepared for the consequences." He did not give specifics.

The United States, which is closely allied with Arab states in the Gulf, has had years of small-scale naval confrontations with Iran, which has occasionally threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which 20 percent of the world's oil flows.

"It is in our vital national security interest to keep the Persian Gulf open, to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. We have done that in the past and we will continue to do that in the future," Zarif said.

"But the United States should know that when they enter the Strait of Hormuz, they have to talk to those protecting the Strait of Hormuz -- and that is the Iranian Revolutionary Guards," he said.

The Trump administration recently branded the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group, the first time the United States has made the far-reaching designation against a unit of a foreign government, as it demands that Iran curtail support for militant movements in the region.

The elite force, whose mission is to protect the regime, is in charge of the naval defense of the Strait of Hormuz and also has an array of other interests, including businesses.

When asked if the US pressure campaign on Tehran was aimed at sparking further negotiations or regime change, Zarif said Trump was being pushed by what he mockingly called "the B Team" -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and John Bolton, the US leader's hawkish national security advisor.

"The B team wants regime change at the very least," Zarif said. "It is not a crisis yet, but it is a dangerous situation. Accidents ... are possible. I wouldn't discount the B team plotting an accident anywhere in the region, particularly as we get closer to the election. We are not there yet."

"The B Team wants the United States to take crazy measures, and it won't be the first time the US has taken adventurous measures plotted for it by others," he said.

Zarif suggested possible cooperation with the United States to bring stability to Iraq and Afghanistan, a priority for both Tehran and Washington.

He also said he was willing to swap British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran since 2016, for an Iranian woman detained in Australia for the past three years on a US extradition request.

"I feel sorry for them, and I have done my best to help," Zarif said of Zaghari-Ratcliffe. "But nobody talks about this lady in Australia who gave birth to a child in prison. ... I put this offering on the table publicly now - exchange them."

Zarif then went on to say that Iran had told the US administration six months ago that it was open to a prisoner swap deal, but had not yet received a response.

"All these people that are in prison inside the United States, on extradition requests from the United States, we believe their charges are phony. The United States believes the charges against these people in Iran are phony. Let's not discuss that," he said.

"Let's have an exchange. I'm ready to do it and I have authority to do it," Zarif said.