Using oil as a weapon a threat to OPEC: Iran oil minister

 “Those who use oil as a weapon against two founding members of OPEC are disturbing the unity of OPEC and creating the death and collapse of OPEC and the responsibility for that is with them,” Zanganeh said in a speech at an oil and gas conference in Tehran.

Anyone who uses oil as a political tool must also accept the consequences, he said.

The deadline for the US administration to decide whether to extend sanctions waivers granted to buyers of Iranian oil is now less than a month away, and President Donald Trump faces a tricky decision.

Bijan Zanganeh crossed the wires in the last minutes saying that the oil market was fragile due to uncertainties in Nigeria and Libya.

Hinting at the U.S. actions against Iran, "Those who use oil as a weapon are disturbing the unity of OPEC and are creating its death and collapse," Zanganeh stated. "Anyone who uses oil as a political tool must also accept its consequences."

He further rejected the Saudi and Emirati officials’ claims of making up for Iran’s lost oil in the global market and said, “I believe they are overstating their oil capacities.”

His comments came after Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf voiced the kingdom’s full support for the US decision to halt waivers for the customers of Iranian oil, saying Riyadh will continue efforts “to stabilize the oil market at all times by coordinating with other oil producers in order to ensure that sufficient supplies of oil are available to consumers.”

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