OPEC Failed in Defending Iran’s Legitimate Interests

So long as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries defends Iran’s legitimate interests alongside other members, Tehran will support the group, Iran's OPEC governor said.
"All OPEC members should denounce, openly and in practice, the use [abuse] of oil as a political weapon for imposing sanctions and piling pressure on producing countries," Amir Hossein Zamaninia told ILNA.
Sixty years after its formation, OPEC's founding members, Iran and Venezuela, have been sidelined by US sanctions while its kingpin and a close US-ally, Saudi Arabia, has shown it would rather appease Washington than risk losing US support, he added.
Iran's share of OPEC output has nearly halved to 7.5% since 2010 while Venezuela's has collapsed to 2.3% from almost 10%, according to Reuters calculations based on OPEC data. Saudi Arabia's share, meanwhile, has risen 7% to reach 35%.