Iranian OPEC Minister Begs Trump To Stop Tweeting

Axios reports:

In a statement to Iranian news agency Shana on Thursday, Iran’s OPEC minister, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, addressed President Trump, who has been demanding on Twitter that OPEC lower oil prices, directly, hoping to set the record straight: “Mr. President … OPEC has not defined oil prices for the past 30 years. Your tweets have driven the prices up by at least $10/[barrel]. Please stop [tweeting], otherwise it will go even higher!”

Ardebili argued that demanding lower oil prices may actually have had a hand in driving prices higher. OPEC agreed last month to increase oil production by 600,000 barrels a day to meet demand while avoiding too high a surfeit, but Trump continues to take aim at the organization for pushing oil prices too high.

The demands to increase production are aggravating tensions between the U.S. and some OPEC members. Trump wants greater supply from countries like Iran and Venezuela, even while he imposes greater sanctions on their economies.