BAGHDAD Iraq's decision to suspend oil exports for 30 days aims at "directly hurting" the U.S. economy, Oil Minister Amer Mohammad Rasheed said Monday.

"This measure (suspension) means that (the absence of) two million barrels of Iraqi oil will have a major impact on the oil market and directly hurt the U.S. economy," he told Iraq's satellite channel.

The United States purchases "1.25 million barrels of Iraqi oil (per day), amounting to 12 to 15 percent of U.S. oil imports," Rasheed said.

Iraq halted oil exports for a month from Monday in protest at Israel's assault on the Palestinians.

"This decision is essentially aimed against the Zionist entity and the aggressive U.S. policy, not against anyone else," Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said earlier in a televised address, accusing the United States of being Israel's accomplice in the blitz on West Bank towns, AFP reported.

Echoing Saddam's remarks, Rasheed said Baghdad's decision targeted only the U.S. economy and administration, "which is conniving in the massacres perpetrated by the Zionist enemy in the occupied territories."

Rasheed said that while Baghdad does not sell crude to Washington directly, it "sells oil to many friends who in turn sell it to America, to the tune of over 1.25 million barrels a day."

The fact that "two million barrels of Iraqi crude will be taken out of the market ... will also affect oil stockpiles and prices and thus hurt the U.S. economy, which is precarious at this stage. That is why we are optimistic," he said.

the iraqi minister expressed confidence that the organization of petroleum exporting countries (opec) would not raise its output ceiling to compensate the shortfall from the iraqi stoppage. "we sent a message to opec today urging it to back the position of the iraqi leadership, or at least refrain from taking any decision that would undermine this position," he said. following telephone consultations, iraq was confident that opec members would "not change the output ceiling, and this is what is required," the minister added. rasheed warned that any arab or muslim producer that pumps more oil to make up for the absence of iraqi crude would be conniving in the israeli onslaught on west bank towns no win its 11th day. "any increase in production by any arab or islamic state would be directed against the palestinian heroes who are standing fast in the occupied territories and would be perceived as an act of complicity in the actions taken by the zionist occupation army in the occupied lands," he said. instead, arab and muslim producers should follow iraq's lead "and thereby threaten the us economy in order to force the us administration to take a stand that would bring a halt to the massacres" and lead to an israeli pullout from west bank towns "within hours," rasheed said. "if the massacre stops and the zionist entity's army pulls out, it is natural that iraq should resume normal exports, because iraq does not want some countries to be hurt as a by-product of the damage that will be caused to the american economy and the zionist entity," he added. saddam had said that iraq would halt oil exports for "30 days, after which we will review (the decision), or until the armies of the zionist entity have unconditionally withdrawn from the palestinian territories they have occupied and (until they) respect the will of the palestinian people and the arab nation." kt/lg/dab afp 082009 gmt apr 02 00-38-57.J20 Meanwhile, Rasheed said on Monday that Baghdad had asked fellow OPEC member countries not to raise production after Iraq announced a month-long suspension of oil sales to protest Israeli incursions on the West Bank.

"We have contacted OPEC countries and we have asked them to do two things," rasheed told Reuters in an interview.

"First to support this position in the sense of following it and secondly to at least refrain from any action that undermines the Iraqi decision. that means they refrain from any increase in production."

He said there appeared to be a consensus in OPEC not to raise output.

"To our understanding, although it is too early to say, it looks as if there is a consensus that at least they will refrain from increasing production," Rasheed said.

In another AFP report, President George W. Bush said the rising price of crude oil could harm the fragile U.S. economic recovery and that he would consider some options if Iraq's oil embargo makes matter worse, in an interview published Tuesday with the ****Wall Street Journal*****.

The potential for an oil shock is a reason "why we've got to be very cautious about making bold predictions about the economy. We're an energy-dependent nation," Bush told the daily.

"Bad energy policy, or the failure to have energy policy, or the fact that we're dependent upon unstable countries is a reason why I do not believe that we're out of the economic woods yet," Bush told the leading U.S. economic daily.

On Iraq's decision on Monday to cut off all oil exports for 30 days to protest the Israeli military offensive in the West Bank, bush made it clear he was willing to "look at all options," if the Iraqi threat creates a problem.

Bush specifically refused to rule out tapping the nation's strategic petroleum reserve or a reduction in gasoline taxes if necessary, the daily said.

The president, however, played down the threat to the world oil markets.