TEHRAN – Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the only way to rebalance the oil market is to stop the sanctions on Iran.

“Trump blamed OPEC for rising oil prices in his speech at the UN, but the real reason is Trump himself and his sanctions on Iran,” IRNA reported on Tuesday quoting Zanganeh as saying.
According to the oil minister, the United States is trying to reduce Tehran’s oil revenue to zero and this has made the markets to tighten and consequently resulted in higher oil prices.
The official further stressed the negative impacts of the U.S. sanctions on Iran, saying that China and Europe’s economies will be severely damaged by the situation.

Oil prices have extended a rally this year on expectations the sanctions on Iran will test OPEC’s ability to replace the shortfall, despite a June agreement among the group to pump more after pressure from Trump.

EF/MA