Iran calls for OPEC to unite against potential US oil sanctions

After US President Donald Trump declared he would try to reduce Tehran’s oil exports to zero, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian urged OPEC members to unite against potential US sanctions on the major oil producer.

A day after Trump signed an executive order calling for a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran, which he claims aims to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, Pezeshkian made the remarks at a meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais.

Al-Ghais traveled to Iran on Wednesday, which will hold the rotating presidency of OPEC this year, according to OPEC’s X account.

According to Iranian state media, Pezeshkian and al-Ghais met and agreed that if they were united and worked together, the US would not be able to impose sanctions and pressure on one of them.

Iran exports about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), with the majority going to China. The loss of such a volume, equal to about 1.4 percent of the total world supply, would be significant for markets.

Pezeshkian also outlined strategies for preventing US sanctions and maintaining economic stability, including regional cooperation and self-reliance.

They believe that oil is essential to everything we have, and they want to stop our oil exports, he said, adding that there are many ways to help them by neutralizing their objectives, including enabling them to interact with their neighbors, solve our own problems, and offer a suitable platform for the people of our nation to live in dignity, according to him.

“Destabilize the energy and oil markets.”

After resigning from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement, Trump first imposed “maximum pressure” on Iran. Tehran would curtail its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions under the agreement, which was reached while former US President Barack Obama was in office.

Trump’s actions from 2017 to 2021 saw a sharp drop in Iranian oil exports to as little as 200, 000 bpd in some months of 2020. After Trump urged producers to offset losses brought on by the sanctions against Iran, OPEC and allies agreed to increase supply in 2018.

Iran’s oil exports rose to the highest since 2018 during the term of President Joe Biden, despite continued US sanctions.

Mohsen Paknejad, the Iranian minister of petroleum, also told al-Ghais that imposing unilateral sanctions on crude producers would stifle energy markets, according to a report released on Wednesday by the news agency SHANA.

“The security of the oil market depends a lot on depoliticizing the oil market. According to Paknejad, imposing unilateral sanctions on major oil producers and putting pressure on OPEC will destabilize the world’s oil and energy markets and cause harm to consumers.