Iran's OPEC governor, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili answered Trump's recent accusations of OPEC artificially controlling oil prices in an interview with Reuters. He reminded the US president that it was his country that had imposed sanctions against two major oil-producing countries and that there are consequences to such actions.
"You cannot place sanctions on two OPEC founding members and still blame OPEC for oil price volatility. This is business, Mr. President — we thought you knew it," Hossein Kazempour Ardebili said.
US President Trump had previously complained about oil prices being "too high" and suggested that OPEC "is at it again." Oil prices have seen a 60% increase over the last year, after OPEC countries in cooperation with other oil producers agreed to limit their production to cut excessive supply on the market and return prices closer to pre-2014 levels.
READ MORE: 'Not Good!': Trump Blames OPEC for High Oil Prices
The US has imposed sanctions against Venezuela, effectively limiting its ability to sell oil produced in the country. In May, Donald Trump announced withdrawal from the Iran deal and promised to impose the "highest level of sanctions" against Tehran and anyone who does business with it. Iran and Venezuela are among founding countries of the OPEC international oil cartel.
