Some OPEC members threaten organization’s existence: Iran
Tehran (KNA) : Iran's minister of petroleum says some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) risk destroying the energy group, in an apparent dig at Saudi Arabia.
Bijan Zangeneh said Monday Tehran backs cooperation with non-OPEC oil producers, but stressed the importance of achieving unity among the organization's members in the first place.
"Without unity among members of OPEC, it is meaningless to plan cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries," he told reporters before heading to Vienna to attend an OPEC meeting.
OPEC members were to meet later on Monday followed by a meeting with non-OPEC states, including Russia, on Tuesday.
They are expected to prolong the current output restrictions of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) by another six to nine months, with Zangeneh saying Iran will support the decision.
Tehran has in the past objected to policies put forward by Saudi Arabia, saying Riyadh was too close to Washington.
The United States is not a member of OPEC, but it has demanded Saudi Arabia pump more oil to compensate for lower exports from Iran after slapping fresh sanctions on Tehran.
Zangeneh said, "While we have not been hostile to any country, some members of the OPEC have taken the path of hostility with our nation."
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pledged to step up oil production to substitute Iranian barrels in line with the US policy of zeroing out Iran's oil exports.
President Donald Trump withdrew the US in May 2018 from a multilateral nuclear accord with Iran and reimposed unilateral sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Source: PressTV