NEW YORK – Iran Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will arrive in the United States late Monday to attend a special high-level United Nation’s session on the mounting food and energy crisis, Iran's U.N. mission reports.
Mottaki additionally is calling for a closed-door meeting Tuesday afternoon with a small group of journalists and will hold a general news conference Wednesday, say U.N. officials.
Mottaki‘s diplomatic mission to the U.N. comes as the energy markets continue to defy the Bush administration and OPEC’s efforts to cool off the rapid rise in the price of crude oil.
On Monday, the price of crude was $143 a barrel.
Some energy analysts now predict the price of crude oil could reach $175 a barrel before topping off.
This, if such levels are reached, will represent more than a doubling of world oil prices in less than a 10-month period.
The spike in energy prices represents a windfall for Iran’s Islamic Republic, which is OPEC's third largest producer of crude.
Aside from the financial aspects of the Mottaki visit, the United Nation's diplomatic mission comes on the heels of new political warnings.
Iranian military sources revealed Saturday that, in a defensive measure, Tehran has targeted a number of ballistic missiles at key Israeli sites, including the atomic complex in the Negev desert town of Dimona.
It is believed that Dimona is the heart of Israel's nuclear weapons program.
Iran claims it was reacting to recent reports that the Israeli Air Force has been running practice drills aimed at striking Iranian nuclear facilities.
Neither Israel's U.N. mission nor the U.S. mission to the U.N. had any comment about the Iranian minister's visit.
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