Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the tension between Iran and the US is a “trade war,” adding that Iranian output and exports had not changed as a result of US pressure.
During an interview with state television, Zanganeh on Saturday accused US President Donald Trump of insulting Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by ordering it to increase production and reduce prices.
On Wednesday, Trump accused OPEC of driving fuel prices higher, and urged Saudi Arabia to pump more if it wanted Washington to continue protecting it against its top rival Iran.
“Mr. Trump sends every day a new message that creates uncertainty in the market,” indicated Zanganeh.
Iran, OPEC’s third-largest producer, is facing US sanctions on its oil exports prompting some buyers to cut purchases. In May, Washington announced it was walking away from an international deal on Iran’s nuclear program, and said it would impose fresh sanctions on Iran’s energy sector.
In July, South Korea halted all Iranian oil shipments for the first time in six years amid US pressure.
The EU, once Iran’s biggest oil importer, has promised to try keep the 2015 nuclear deal alive without the United States by trying to keep oil and investment flowing.
Foreign ministers from the five remaining signatory countries offered a package of economic measures to Iran on Friday to counter the U.S. sanctions, but Tehran said the package did not go far enough.
“I have not seen the package personally, but our colleagues in the foreign ministry who have seen it were not happy with its details,” Zanganeh was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.
Iran threatened to block oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US efforts to reduce Iranian oil sales to zero. Zanganeh said Iran’s stance on this issue was clear.
On Friday, Oil prices fell due to surging US output and falling demand in China amid international tensions and a Saudi production increase.
Brent crude futures settled down 86 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $76.46 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures ended 21 cents lower at $65.74 a barrel. For the week, Brent fell 0.5 percent, while US crude slipped 0.3 percent.
US energy companies this week added oil rigs for the first time in three weeks but the rate of growth has slowed over the past month or so with a decline in crude prices from late May through late June.
Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its report on Friday that US crude prices jumped to their highest since November 2014 earlier this week. Drillers added five oil rigs in the week to July 6, bringing the total count to 863.
The US rig count, an early indicator of future output, is much higher than a year ago when 763 rigs were active as energy companies have been ramping up production. So far this year, US oil futures have averaged $65.71 per barrel. That compares with averages of $50.85 in 2017 and $43.47 in 2016.
US Energy Information Administration (EIA) last month projected average annual US production will rise to a record high 10.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2018 and 11.8 million bpd in 2019 from 9.4 million bpd in 2017.
The current all-time US annual output peak was in 1970 at 9.6 million bpd, according to federal energy data.
