DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) does not plan to hold a special meeting or take immediate action, as Iran’s foreign minister called on OPEC members to Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel, four sources from the producers group said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Wednesday called on OIC members to impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel, and to expel all Israeli ambassadors.
Four sources within OPEC, which produces a third of the world’s oil and includes several Arab countries including Iran, said no immediate action or emergency meetings were planned by the group after Tehran’s comments. .
“We are not a political organization,” one of the sources said.
Asked about a possible reduction in Arab oil production in retaliation for Israel’s actions in Gaza, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem al-Budaiwi said the GCC was committed to energy security and should not use oil as a weapon.
“The GCC is a clear and honest partner of the international community as an oil exporter and under no circumstances can we use it as a weapon,” Jasem al-Budaiwi said.
(Reporting Elwely Elwelly and Maha El Dahan in Dubai, AhmadGhaddar and Alex Lawler in London, French version Corentin Chappron, editing by Kate Entringer)
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