Iran
will take action if a U.S. aircraft carrier which left the area because
of Iranian naval exercises returns to the Gulf, the state news agency
quoted army chief Ataollah Salehi as saying on Tuesday.
"Iran
will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to
the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the
American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Salehi told IRNA.
"I
advise, recommend and warn them (the Americans) over the return of this
carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning
more than once," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Salehi as
saying.
Salehi did not name the aircraft carrier or give details
of the action Iran might take if it returned. However, last week a
spokeswoman for the U.S. 5th Fleet said the USS John C. Stennis had left
the Gulf.
Iran completed 10 days of naval exercises in the Gulf
on Monday, and said during the drills that if foreign powers imposed
sanctions on its crude exports it could shut the Strait of Hormuz,
through which 40 percent of the world's traded oil is shipped.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, said it would not allow shipping to be disrupted in the strait.
Iran fires missiles
Iran
said on Monday it had successfully test-fired two long-range missiles
during its naval drill, flexing its military muscle in the face of
mounting Western pressure over its controversial nuclear program.
Iran
also said it had no intention of closing the Strait of Hormuz but had
carried out "mock" exercises on shutting the strategic waterway.
Tehran
denies Western accusations that it is secretly trying to build atomic
bombs, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.
The
United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against
Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the Islamic state's nuclear row with
the West.
The European Union is considering following the United
States in banning imports of Iranian crude oil. U.S. President Barack
Obama signed new sanctions against Iran into law on Saturday, stepping
up the pressure by adding sanctions on financial institutions that deal
with Iran's central bank.
Meanwhile, Iran said the new
record low of the national currency to the U.S. dollar was not linked to
the latest sanctions from the United States targeting the country's
central bank.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on
Tuesday insisted there "is no relation" between the two. He said the
American sanctions "have yet to be put into practice."
The
Iranian currency's exchange rate hovered late Monday around 18,000
riyals to the dollar, marking a roughly 12 percent slide compared to
Sunday's rate of 15,900 riyals to the dollar.
President Barack
Obama on Saturday signed into law a bill targeting Iran's central bank
as part of the West's efforts to pressure Tehran over its nuclear
program. It goes into effect in six months
