Trump Attacks Arab Countries: OPEC Must Reduce Oil Prices Now

As the OPEC monitoring committee and allied countries led by Russia prepare for a meeting in Algeria, both Iran and the United States have criticized OPEC simultaneously. Iran expects that the members of this organization will not compensate for the decline in Iran's oil production, while the U.S. accuses them of reducing supply and increasing oil prices. The monitoring committee is set to meet on October 23 in Algeria to discuss the global oil market situation, as well as the issue of increasing production by OPEC and allied countries. On Thursday, September 20, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Middle Eastern Arab countries in a tweet, stating: 'We support Middle Eastern countries, and without our support, they cannot have security in the long run. However, they continue to raise oil prices. We will remember this. The monopolistic OPEC must reduce prices now.' The U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran on May 8 of this year and reinstated the suspended financial and industrial sanctions against Tehran in mid-August. Oil sanctions are also set to be reinstated in November. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran's oil production and exports have faced a significant decline. According to a new report from Bloomberg citing shipping statistics released on September 18, Iran's daily oil and gas condensate exports have dropped from 2.5 million barrels last year to about 1.8 million barrels in September, and this decline continues. Following Trump's criticism of Middle Eastern countries and OPEC, Brent crude oil prices fell by half a percent on Thursday to $79, but still showed a 46% increase compared to the average price last year. Trump has repeatedly urged OPEC to increase its production and prevent oil and petroleum product prices from soaring. According to OPEC statistics, although Iran's daily oil production has decreased by about 235,000 barrels since the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA until August, neighboring Arab countries in OPEC, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Qatar, have collectively increased their production by 794,000 barrels, with half of this increase attributed to Saudi Arabia.