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(Newswires, January 3) – The Pentagon says it will continue to send US aircraft carriers to the Persian Gulf. Iran has warned it could block one of the world’s key oil tanker sea lanes in response to economic pressure.

Tensions have soared as Iran faces a fresh round of sanctions from Western governments over its nuclear program, prompting threats by Tehran to blockade oil shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil tankers, or to go after American naval ships.

Pentagon press secretary George Little said on Tuesday the US would continue to deploy military assets to the Gulf in accordance with international law and to maintain "a constant state of high vigilance" to ensure the flow of sea commerce.

Little was responding to a statement from the head of the Iranian army in which he threatened unspecified action if US aircraft carriers returned to the region.

The Pentagon spokesman said any closure of the Strait of Hormuz would not be tolerated, but he declined to elaborate. He said Washington was not seeking a confrontation.

Diverting attention
France has urged its European partners to follow Washington's lead and agree by the end of this month to impose an embargo on Iranian oil exports and freeze the country's central bank assets.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, speaking on Tuesday ahead of a January 30 European Union foreign ministers meeting, said he was certain that Iran was going ahead with its nuclear weapons program and stressed that it was time to toughen sanctions.

"Iran is pursuing the development of nuclear arms. I have no doubt about it. This is why France, without closing the path of negotiation and dialogue with Iran, wants stricter sanctions," Juppe said.

The foreign minister said that French President Nicolas Sarkozy supported this position, a move also being considered by the EU.

"The American Congress has backed this idea and President Obama has just signed it into law. We hope that the Europeans, by January 30, take equivalent measures to show our determination," Juppe said.

Tensions have grown in recent days after Iran test-fired a series of missiles near the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, a key oil supply route.

No response to negotiation offer
Earlier on Tuesday, the European Union said that Iran must respond to an EU letter before stalled nuclear talks can resume, dismissing calls by Tehran for a new date for the negotiations. Past talks have failed to produce tangible results because Iran has rejected Western demands that their uranium enrichment program be suspended as a sign of goodwill.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is for civilian use, but the West believes the program is being used to secretly work on nuclear weapons technology.

EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, who represents six world powers in the talks, has yet to receive a response to a letter sent to Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalil in October offering to resume negotiations.

Tehran said on Tuesday that talks could resume soon and that international nuclear inspectors would visit Iran this month, but Ashton's spokesman, Michael Mann, said that they were still waiting for a substantive answer.

"It is one thing to declare your willingness to talk, but it would be good if the Iranians were responding to our letter," Mann said.