Tehran, Iran, Dec. 14
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said that the falling price of crude oil in global markets is rather a political plot than a mere economic issue.
"Certain countries have artificially reduced the price of crude oil as part of a political plot," he explained, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on Dec. 13.
He went on to note that Iran has good relations with the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
"Iran supports efforts to resolve the problems of the several Arab countries, including Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, as well as the Gaza strip," the official noted.
"Iran will respond decisively to any threat towards its security," Shamkhani added.
The falling trend of oil price in global markets has hit the oil producing countries hard.
Iran is expected to face a budget deficit in the current Iranian calendar year (to end March 20, 2015), due to the sharp fall in oil prices.
The price of oil continued its precipitous fall on Dec. 12, hitting five-and-a-half-year lows after the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted demand next year would be lower than expected, the guardian reported.
Benchmark Brent crude has dropped 47% since June and fell to just over $61 a barrel as the IEA warned of the threat of global social instability and the potential for financial defaults in big producer countries such as Venezuela and Russia.