Iran calls for OPEC to unite against potential US oil sanctions

Dubai: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian urged OPEC members to unite against possible US sanctions on the major oil producer, after US President Donald Trump said he would seek to drive Tehran's oil exports to zero.

Iranian crude oil exports currently stand at around 1.5 million barrels per day, with the majority going to China. The loss of such a volume, equal to about 1.4 per cent of total world supply, would be significant for markets.

Pezeshkian made the comments at a meeting with OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais. OPEC's X account on Wednesday showed Al Ghais on a visit to Iran, which assumes the rotating OPEC presidency this year.

"I believe that if OPEC members are united and work together, the US would not be able to sanction and pressure one of them," Pezeshkian said at the meeting with Al Ghais, according to Iran's state media.

Trump on Tuesday restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, aimed at stopping Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran's oil exports rose to the highest since 2018 during the term of President Joe Biden, despite US sanctions. Iran remains exempt from output curbs agreed to by OPEC+ oil-producing nations.

Iranian oil minister Mohsen Paknejad told Al Ghais that imposing unilateral sanctions on crude producers would destabilise energy markets, the oil ministry's SHANA news outlet reported earlier on Wednesday.

"Depoliticising the oil market is a vital issue for energy security. Imposing unilateral sanctions against major oil producers and putting pressure on OPEC will destabilise oil and energy markets as well as harm consumers around the world," Paknejad said.

Similar policies during Trump's first term led to a sharp drop in Iranian oil exports to as little as 2,00,000 bpd in some months of 2020. In 2018, OPEC and allies agreed to boost supply after Trump urged producers to offset losses caused by the sanctions on Iran.

Paknejad also told state TV on Wednesday that Tehran had prepared strategies for any situation regarding US sanctions.

On broader energy matters, Paknejad said the most important challenge for the global oil market in the medium to long-term was the issue of upstream investment.

"If today some major oil consumers are concerned about oil supply, this is the result of their political actions putting pressure on OPEC+ and pushing for regulatory restrictions on new upstream investments," he said.

Paknejad in December was elected as president of the OPEC Conference for 2025.