Oil Prices Would Drop if Trump Stopped Tweeting: Iranian OPEC Official

The Iranian representative to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) told a CNBC reporter on Sunday that oil prices would likely drop if Trump stopped tweeting criticisms of the organization and argued that Trump’s alleged attempt to “[push] politics” into OPEC is working against him. CNBC notes that Trump has bashed the group repeatedly via Twitter—especially in the wake of OPEC’s January 2017 decision to put a cap on production and subsequently raise prices—calling it a “monopoly” and demanding member countries “get prices down now!” The representative, Hossein Kazempour, told CNBC, “If they kept quiet, the prices would be cheaper, I am confident about that,” and added “I am telling him [Trump], keep quiet, do not do any tweets, and then you will be better off in the prices.” Kazempour also addressed the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on Iran, noting that the increased political pressure on OPEC and Iran is “something which cannot be accepted. Not by Iran only, but also by others.”