TEHRAN (Reuters) - Plugging the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is no great challenge compared to what Iran has dealt with in the past, an official at Iran's drilling company said Sunday.
A long-standing adversary of the United States, oil producer Iran has offered to help fight the spill -- a gesture unlikely to be taken up by Washington which is pushing for new U.N. sanctions against Tehran's nuclear program.
Two U.S. cabinet members were to visit the Gulf Coast on Sunday, underscoring serious concerns over what some believe may be the worst oil spill in the United States.
Mehran Alinejad, the head of special drilling operations at the National Iranian Drilling Co., said Iran had successfully dealt with huge oil leaks in the past, particularly when rigs were bombed during a war with Iraq in the 1980s.
"Iranian technical teams have had major achievements in oil well capping compared with which the Gulf of Mexico oil rig is no feat," he told IRNA news agency.
Alinejad repeated Iran's offer of help.
"There is at any rate an ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico whose negative consequences include everyone. That is why if we receive a suitable response from the officials of that country we can examine the issue and contribute to its resolution."
(Reporting by Hashem Kalantari; writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Maria Golovnina)