Iran Urges Regional States’ Action against Sliding Oil Prices


Iran Urges Regional States’ Action against Sliding Oil Prices

TEHRAN (Tasnim) An Iranian deputy foreign minister called on regional countries not to allow certain states spend their petrodollars to harm the economy and welfare of the region.

“Regional countries should not allow an oil producing state to create a situation that harms the economy and welfare of the whole region and benefits the ultra-regional states,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for African and Middle Eastern Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Thursday.

The top Iranian diplomat emphasized that it is not acceptable to see a regional country take no action to stop the sliding oil prices, without considering the interests of other oil-producing states like Kuwait.

He also said some media outlets in the Persian Gulf country have misinterpreted the recent comments by Iranian president regarding Kuwait and the dire repercussions of falling oil prices.

Amirabdollahian reiterated that Iran and Kuwait enjoy long-time cordial ties and President Rouhani has always emphasized the significance of strengthening bilateral ties and regional cooperation with the Persian Gulf country.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani gave an assurance on Tuesday that the country will not buckle under the plummeting oil prices, saying other crude producers will bear the brunt of the orchestrated drop in crude prices.

“Those who have engineered the reduction in the price of oil to damage certain countries will regret and could not keep to such a path,” Rouhani said in an address to huge gathering of people in the southern city of Bushehr on Tuesday.

“If the decreasing oil price is to inflict losses on Iran, you should know that other (oil) producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will incur more losses,” the president added.

The president also pointed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait’s heavy dependence on oil incomes, explaining that only one-third of the next year’s budget of Iran relies on petrodollars.

President Rouhani also noted that the downward trend in the price of oil “could not continue for a long time,” stressing that “Iran will not be put under pressure of oil price slump.”

Over the past six months, the oil prices have fallen more than 50 percent due to a glut of supplies by certain oil producing countries such as Saudi Arabia.

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