On Wednesday Iran warned of a fierce response and radically higher oil prices if they were attacked but than again the country also signaled possible progress in its five-year nuclear standoff with the west.
Iran has made it very clear that any kind of activity of any sort would not be tolerated, according to Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari.
Nozari than told
sources that oil prices would rise radically if the states or Israel launched a military strike.
Nozari comments made on the sidelines of an oil conference come after Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki raised hopes of arriving at a negotiated multi-faceted solution to the nuclear stalemate.
Mottaki spoke at a press conference at the United Nations and he said that there was a possibility of arriving at a multi-faceted solution. Mottaki was commenting on a revised package of economic and energy incentives.
Mottaki told a source that there was a new process underway after six world powers presented Iran with a package of measures to end the deadlock last month.
After Mottaki's statements were made the White House expressed scepticism but his statements were well received in Brussels, where EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana described it as "interesting."
Last month was when six world powers presented a package to Iran that included technological incentives in exchange for Tehran suspending uranium enrichment, which could have been used to make an atomic bomb, according to the West.
Iran than unveiled its own package which was more all-embracing to solve global problems and it also suggested that a consortium be set up in Iran for enriching uranium.
Mottaki said that examination of the package, presented by Solana, would soon enter the final stage.
In other news there has been a surge in speculation that Israel might be planning a military strike against Iran's nuclear sites after it emerged that Israeli fighter planes had carried out practice runs.
Tehran is ready to adopt a softer line and may be prepared to offer concessions, Recent Western reports suggests.
In the past President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly vowed that his country would never halt enrichment operations and the foreign policy advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also said that Tehran would not back down.
Iran has always insisted that its atomic drive is entirely peaceful and it needs nuclear energy for a growing population whose fossil fuels will eventually run out.
On Wednesday President Bush stressed that military action was possible despite his preference for diplomacy.
Bush told reporters that he has always said that all options are on the table but he would prefer that Iran be dealt diplomatically.
Top US military chiefs have warned that opening up a third front against Iran in addition to Iraq and Afghanistan would be very stressful.
The United States and its ally Israel have never ruled out military strikes against Tehran but analysts expressed concern that Iran would cease crude exports and could block key Gulf oil shipping routes if attacked.
Iran warns about attack, refers to nuclear 'solution'
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