On Tuesday Iran threatened take action if the U.S. Navy moves an aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf. It was Tehran's most aggressive statement yet after weeks of sabre-rattling as new U.S. and EU sanctions are taking a toll on the economy.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says the threats are a bid to distract.
SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN JAY CARNEY SAYING:
"I think it reflects the fact that Iran is in a position of weakness. It's the latest round of Iranian threats and it's confirmation that Tehran is under increasing pressure for it's continued failure for it to live up to it's international obligation. Iran is isolated and is seeking to divert attention from it's domestic problems. This is simply a measure of the impact that sanctions have been having on Iran and the broad international support for taking, putting pressure on Iran and isolating Iran because of it's refusal to live up to it's international obligations."
The prospect of sanctions targeting the oil sector in a serious way for the first time has hit Iran's currency, which hit a record low Tuesday and has fallen by 40 percent against the dollar in the past month.
After years of measures that had little impact, the new sanctions are the first that could have a serious effect on Iran's oil trade, which makes up 60 percent of its economy.
The West has imposed the increasingly tight sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are strictly peaceful but Western countries believe it aims to build an atomic bomb.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.