CAIRO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A senior Arab official warned that oil prices would jump to more than 200 U.S. dollars a barrel if Iran was militarily attacked, the Egyptian state MENA news agency reported on Sunday.

    Secretary General of the Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) Ahmed Guwaili made the remarks in an interview with Egypt's Arabicdaily Al Gomhuria published on Sunday.

    Guwaili said the Arab world and all the countries in the world would be affected if Tehran is attacked by military actions.

    The United States and Israel have recently stepped up their rhetoric against Iran and are believed to be preparing the public for a war against the oil-rich country.

    On Saturday, Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said that no country will ever dare to carry out an act of aggression against the Islamic Republic.

    "If Israel dares to engage in a military conflict with Iran, itis not clear what would happen to oil prices," Nozari warned, adding that even empty anti-Iran rhetoric "pushes oil prices up by10 to 15 dollars."

    Meanwhile, Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hasan Firouzabadi said on Saturday if the country's interests are jeopardized in the region, "we will not let any ship pass through the Strait of Hormuz."

    The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway in the Gulf through which roughly 40 percent of the world oil is transported.