Newspaper Stands by Iran Oil-Threat Story
A Dubai-based newspaper said Sunday it stands by a story in which it quoted Iran's president as saying he might curtail oil sales if his nation is referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions over its nuclear program.
However, the Khaleej Times acknowledged that the confusion might have arisen because the reporter, a freelance journalist, told the president she was working for another paper.
After the story quoting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared Saturday, the president's office issued a statement saying he "never had an interview, either oral or written" with the newspaper.
On Sunday, the newspaper said the reporter on several occasions "presented herself (to Ahmadinejad) as a reporter with the American-based Arabic News, and not as a Khaleej Times reporter, though she has given this report exclusively to Khaleej Times."
The paper's editor, Prem Chandran, has said: "We support what we published."
The paper said that in the interview, Ahmadinejad was asked about last month's resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which warned Iran it would be referred to the Security Council unless it allayed fears about its nuclear program.
"If Iran's case is sent to the Security Council, we will respond by many ways, for example, by holding back on oil sales or limiting inspections of our nuclear facilities," Ahmadinejad said, according to the newspaper.
The president's office responded by saying "such a claim is nothing more than a mere fabrication," according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
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