Iran's OPEC ambassador: Saudi Arabia, UAE turning OPEC into US tools

Tehran, Sept 15, IRNA - Iranian representative to OPEC said that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are turning OPEC into an instrument for the United States, which undermines the credence of the organization, and OPEC is now without identity and effect. Hossein Kazempour Ardebili criticized the performance of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in undermining OPEC's position, adding that these actions have left not much credence for OPEC and that the organization is losing its organizational character and becoming an assembly. Iran's representative to OPEC added that OPEC is responsible for balancing the oil market, rather than imposing a boycott on one or two of its founding members, and it must be committed to balancing the market. He stated that Article 2 of the Statute of the OPEC emphasizes the protection of the interests of each or all of the member countries, and it is necessary for the organization to support the countries that are subject to unilateral, illegal and cross border sanctions. The representative of Iran in OPEC said that Russia and Saudi Arabia are struggling on the pretext of balancing the global oil market in pursuit of taking part of Iran's share and on the other hand some OPEC members with joining the US are managed to strike some of the founders of the organization. Kazempur Ardebili added that the president of the United States is actually trying to prevent Iran from appearing in the global crude oil markets, which has led to hostage-taking by Russia and Saudi Arabia, which tends not to have much to do with low oil prices. He said that American bullying would certainly not end in Iran or Venezuela, just as it did not end with Iraq and Kuwait, and Iran never ceases its efforts to enforce its rights. Kazempur Ardebili added that rising oil prices are not in the interest of consumers, and countries like Japan, India, China, and even Europe should pay the US arms and aircraft sales to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia with higher prices for energy and its carriers, and in fact by raising oil prices, America can earn money from the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia or aircraft to Russia as soon as possible.