Iran warns of $200 oil surge

Global oil prices could hit $200 per barrel if the United States pursues international sanctions against Iran, an Iranian official said yesterday, although analysts passed the comment off as saber rattling. Iran's Foreign Relations Vice Minister Manuchehr Mohammadi told Venezuelan state television, "The first consequence of these sanctions would be an increase in the price of oil to around $200 per barrel." The statement comes after the United Nations on Monday demanded that Iran suspend all nuclear development within a month or face the threat of sanctions. Iran responded that it had a sovereign right to nuclear development.