“Yesterday’s meeting ultimately concluded with all OPEC and non-OPEC members to abide by the current production agreements, which is consistent with what Iran wanted,” Iranian Oil Minister Zanganeh told reporters on Monday, on the sidelines of IranPlast exhibition currently underway in Tehran.
Zanganeh had previously said that he would block any OPEC decision that poses the slightest threat to Iran, adding that any decision on a new production agreement by OPEC’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting on Sunday would be “void” and “invalid”.
Zanganeh, who did not attend the Algerian JMMC meeting, had said that “decisions can only be made at OPEC meetings in the presence of all OPEC members and by consensus of members.”
Talking to reporters on Monday, the oil minister said that the absence of Iran’s oil supply in global markets is not feasible in the long run. He added that it might happen for a short period of time, however.
“Trump’s statement addressed to US’ allies in the region, that they owe their security to the US, is a great insult to the governments and nations of these countries, and I hope that they will take proper measures to respond to this insult,” Zanganeh added.
According to the oil minister, the agreement reached at the Algerian JMMC meeting on Sunday was not a positive response to Trump’s demand that OPEC should lower oil prices.
“OPEC and non-OPEC members jointly announced that there is no need to increase oil supply at the moment,” Zanganeh said. “if not a heavy defeat [for Trump], one can at least say that what Trump and the US wanted was not reached at the meeting.”
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