Rafsanjani: OPEC should not heed decisions of consumers

Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Wednesday that OPEC should not heed the decisions taken by the oil consumers, AVA Diplomatic reports.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Algerian Ambassador to Tehran Sofiane Mimouni.

Rafsanjani expressed concern about the oil price falls and the impact of the adventurism of the developed states, that are major oil consumers, and said OPEC is an organization to support oil producers and should not be affected by the ambitions of the oil consumers.

He referred to the chronology of oil price decline in the past years and said the same event took place in the 1990s, when his own government was on duty, the problem was solved by the Saudi Arabia assistance.

He said we should not let wealth of Muslims and Islam be wasted and others decide for our resources.

He said that the Algerian freedom fighters gave good lesson to the world of Islam and Iranian revolutionaries during rein of monarchs.

‘Iran and Algeria, as two Muslim and oil rich states, share common history in campaign against colonialism and they can expand and strengthen their relations based on Islamic and national interests.’

Due to their experience in campaign against colonialism, Algerians have a special position among people and the revolutionaries of Algeria are respected by Iranian people.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Rafsanjani voiced concern over discord among Muslim Ummah and said extremist hardliners are knowingly or un-knowingly the agents for enemies of Muslims.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani said that they exploit social discontent and emotional exhaustion among the youth, which are natural in this world, to spread terrorism virus into the Middle East and Africa.

Referring to condition of the Muslim countries of North Africa, Ayatollah Rafsanjani said the wise in North Africa should do something serious to prevent the destructive flow of extremism.

He said Holy Quran and social unrest are big calamity for nations and Muslim ulema should be prudent enough and not to allow Muslim states shed each other’s blood.

Saying that expansion of relations among Muslim states is the political exigency of the modern worldwide, Ayatollah Rafsanjani said Iran and Algeria can use each other’s experience and think more on expansion of relations, preparing the ground for activity of their private sectors.

Mimouni said for his part that two big Muslim countries of Iran and Algeria in Asia and Africa have longstanding relations and cooperation.

‘Relations between the two countries continue and got extensive on certain junctures based on mutual stances and the bases your Excellency and President Bouteflika as presidents of the two countries.’

He referred to the policy of Iranian and Algerian ambassadors for more dialogue between their foreign ministers and parliamentary groups and said cultural cooperation through setting up fairs of artists in Tehran and Algeria and mutual economic cooperation based on the specified frameworks and presence of the two countries’ companies for implementation of projects and plans are significant.

He noted that construction and water resources are the best ground for expansion of bilateral relations.

‘The Joint Commission session will enable traders to showcase potentials of Iran and Algeria to their people.’

He recalled the position of Iran and Algeria in political events of the region and the Muslim World and said some regional states should admit wisely that Iran shoulders a very valuable and positive role in regional and international cooperation.

He said OPEC should adjust its policies in line with interest of oil producers.

He said oil price falls are another plot in line with the greater Middle East scheme and the West tries to make Muslim countries smaller and more dependent to attain their colonialist interests.