Iran slams Trump's 'interfering' remarks on OPEC

Iran's Petroleum Minister said US President Donald Trump has recently made "interfering" remarks on the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

"Political issues should not interfere in the crude market, and supply and demand should determine the final oil price," Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, Press TV reported on Saturday.

"But some political measures and instabilities spark concerns in the oil market and increase its price, including Trump's insulting order to some OPEC members," Zanganeh said.

Trump's order for oil producing countries to raise output "is very insulting to the people of these countries and would undermine their national sovereignty and destabilize the oil market," he said.

On June 30, Trump said Saudi Arabia had pledged to increase its oil output by two million barrels per day "to compensate for falling output in Venezuela and Iran", Xinhua news agency reported.

On Wednesday, Trump said OPEC is "driving oil prices higher", urging the cartel to reduce the price at the soonest.

Zanganeh said Trump's anti-OPEC remarks are the causes of the increase in the prices in the oil market over the past days.

Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, Iran's ambassador to the OPEC, said the strong rhetoric by Trump against OPEC and oil producers could soon push up crude prices to as high as $100 per barrel.

--IANS

pgh/