Iran Opposes Proposal to Delay OPEC’s Next Meeting
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran has told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that it opposes delaying the oil producer group’s next meeting to July, media reports said on Tuesday.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, in a letter seen by Reuters, said he disagreed with an OPEC proposal to reschedule the meeting to early July.
The talks are currently set to take place on June 25-26.
In a separate letter, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Algeria and Kazakhstan also disagreed with moving the dates.
The remarks came against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US with Washington imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s oil sector.
The US has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since last year after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Since then, the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to reduce Iran’s oil exports to “zero,” and tried to stack up pressure on Tehran.
Iranian officials, however, have dismissed such moves as psychological warfare, saying the country has its own ways of circumventing the American bans and selling crude oil.
