Minister: “Iran does not intend to leave OPEC oil cartel.”

Iran has no plans to exit OPEC oil cartel. That is what the Iranian oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said in an interview published on Saturday with the news site Icana.
“Iran has no intentions to leave OPEC and regrets that some OPEC members have turned the organization into a political forum to confront two of the founders, namely Iran and Venezuela,” said Zanganeh.
Moreover, according to the minister, two countries in the region displays “enmity” towards Iran and use oil as a weapon. He does not say which countries it is.
Tensions between Iran on the one hand and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on the other have increased this year. The two countries have said they want to improve their oil production to compensate for the loss of oil production due to American sanctions against Iran. Venezuela also has to deal with sanctions from the United States.
Last May, US President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran. They are aimed at the aluminium, steel, iron and copper sectors of the country.
Last year, the US stepped out of the Iran-deal because, according to Trump, Iran is not complying with the restrictions on nuclear weapons development. That agreement stipulates that Iran will allow inspections of its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions on the country.