Iran says US should recognise it as a 'big, regional power'

The US must recognise Iran as a “big, regional power,” the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, General Yahya Rahim Safavi, said today.

Speaking on state television, Safavi said Iran could use the Straits of Hormuz to apply pressure on foreign powers. About two-fifths of the world’s oil supplies pass through the 34-mile wide entrance to the Gulf.