Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said security in the Persian Gulf is critical to countries in the region and those who need the region's energy.

"The Persian Gulf is a very important and sensitive region both for the security of the region and for the flow of energy," he said Wednesday in an interview with Xinhua.

The remarks came as the Islamic republic and the G5+1 (five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) are negotiating to restart a new round of talks over Tehran's nuclear program.

The spokesman declined to say whether Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel at the entrance to the Gulf and the world's most critical oil route, as suggested by some Iranian commanders in the recent naval drills.

"If the security of the region is threatened, the regional countries will lose, and of course those countries which need the energy of this region will also lose," he said.

"We are not trying to create tensions and we advise the U.S., some Western countries and the Zionist regime's officials not to be engaged in such games (of creating tensions)," he said. However, he said that if the situation grows tense, Iran's decisions would be made on the basis of the changed situation.

Regarding potential sanctions by the European Union (EU) members on Iran's oil exports, the spokesman said that Iran's oil and its market share in the supply of global crude are irreplaceable.

The global energy market cannot easily disregard a country which has the world's second largest gas reserves and the fourth largest oil resources, he said.

The spokesman added that EU countries in particular need to ensure their steady energy supply for their long-term development programs, and that they cannot risk their national interests under U.S. pressure.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Wednesday that the European Union could decide on an oil embargo against Iran at a foreign ministers' meeting on Jan. 30.

When asked whether it is possible that under some certain conditions Iran will stop its uranium enrichment activities, the spokesman said that would never be the case.

"Enrichment activities will never be given up in our country. The nuclear issue of our country is totally peaceful and is a basic right of our nation," he said.

Mehmanparast stressed that giving up "peaceful" nuclear activities in Iran has never been considered an option.

On the nuclear talks between Iran and the G5+1, the spokesman said that Iran is awaiting the EU's suggestion on the time and venue of the talks.

"We are ready for the talks. We have always said that we are ready for the talks and have always pointed out that the talks should aim at cooperative issues between (the sides), that is, to decide to talk for cooperation instead of confrontation," the official said.

The West suspects that Iran's uranium enrichment may be aimed at producing nuclear weapons, a claim denied by Iranian officials.

Nuclear talks between Iran and the G5+1 in Istanbul in January 2011 failed to reach any agreement as Tehran rejected any notion of suspending enrichment in exchange for trade and technology benefits, as called for by several UN Security Council resolutions passed since 2006.

Relations between Iran and the West further deteriorated recently following a series of incidents. Those included Iran's alleged role in a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington, attacks on the British Embassy in Tehran, the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on the Iranian nuclear program, and disputes over a U.S. drone captured by Iran.