Tehran has no plans to leave Opec: Iranian oil minister

Published June 8, 2019
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh arrives for an Opec meeting in Vienna, Austria. —Reuters/File
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh arrives for an Opec meeting in Vienna, Austria. —Reuters/File

Iran has no plans to leave the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in an interview published by the Iranian parliament news site ICANA on Saturday.

"Iran has no plans to leave OPEC...and regrets that some members of Opec have turned this organisation into a political forum for confronting two founding members of Opec, meaning Iran and Venezuela," Zanganeh told ICANA.

"And two regional countries are showing enmity towards us in this organisation. We are not their enemy but they are showing enmity towards us...and [they] use oil as a weapon against us in the global market and world.” Zanganeh did not name the two countries.

Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have spiked this year after the two said they would increase oil production to make up for Iranian crude cut from the market by the United States sanctions.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump's administration added Iran's largest petrochemical holding group to its sanctions list, accusing it of indirectly supporting Tehran's Revolutionary Guards.

Washington said the move aimed to dry up revenues to the elite Iranian military force but analysts called it largely symbolic.

The Trump administration is seeking to intensify economic and military pressure against Iran because of its nuclear and missile programmes as well as its support for proxy groups in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

Follow Dawn Business on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Hollow applause
Updated 23 Feb, 2026

Hollow applause

The current account turnaround, though largely driven by import compression, rising remittances and bilateral debt rollovers, has eased external pressures.
Delayed appointment
23 Feb, 2026

Delayed appointment

THE recent appointment of a chief election commissioner for Azad Jammu & Kashmir has once again shone a ...
Fragile equilibrium
23 Feb, 2026

Fragile equilibrium

PAKISTAN is not short of food. It is short of resilience. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification...
March to war?
Updated 22 Feb, 2026

March to war?

With his huge build-up of forces around Iran, and frequent threats targeted at the Islamic Republic, the US president has created a very difficult situation for himself.
Paper proscriptions
22 Feb, 2026

Paper proscriptions

THE Punjab government’s decision to publicly list 89 banned and unregistered groups, and to warn citizens against...
Cricket politics again
Updated 22 Feb, 2026

Cricket politics again

Pakistan refused to play India at the ongoing T20 World Cup and only changed its mind in view of the game’s greater good. It is time for India to reciprocate.