Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a press conference in Tehran on April 3, 2015. Iran vowed to stand by a nuclear deal with world powers as Rouhani promised it would open a "new page" in the country's global ties.
AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images) Tehran : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is warning that regional oil supply could be jeopardised if the United States manages to get its allies to stop buying Tehran’s oil. Rouhani spoke to Iranian expatriates in Switzerland during his visit there on Monday.
He says the US has threatened not to allow Iran to continue exporting its oil. The Iranian state TV broadcast his remarks. Rouhani didn’t elaborate but when pressured in the past, Iran has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz though which one third of the world’s oil supply passes. Iran is OPEC’s second-largest crude exporter with more than 2 million barrels a day. After the US pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran, Washington has been pushing allies to cut oil imports from Iran altogether by November.
Issues oil warning as UAE says production can rise
Iran issued a new warning over Mideast oil supplies as the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it could increase its own production, the latest remarks to follow President Donald Trump’s demand for lower global energy prices.
The comments by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the unexpected announcement by the UAE’s oil-rich capital Abu Dhabi came as US benchmark crude traded around US$ 75 a barrel.
A recent decision by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase the cartel’s own production by 1 million barrels a day has yet to tamp down prices.
That’s led to higher prices at gasoline pumps in the US as it heads toward midterm elections for Congress. Speaking to Iranian expatriates last night in Switzerland, where he was on an official visit, Rouhani took aim at America. The US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in May and initially said it wanted allies to stop buying Iranian crude entirely.