BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 13. The Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has affirmed that "there are currently no developments in supply or market dynamics that warrant unnecessary measures", the bloc said in a statement, Trend reports.
This comes in response to today's remarks by International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol, who expressed concern over Israel's strikes on Iran and noted that the situation may warrant the use of emergency oil reserves. "The IEA oil security system has over 1.2 billion barrels of emergency stocks and has proved vital to safeguarding the world economy," he said.
"Today’s statement in social media by the IEA executive director regarding current market conditions and potential use of oil emergency stocks, raises false alarms and projects a sense of market fear through repeating the unnecessary need to potentially use oil emergency stocks," OPEC said.
The bloc added that similar assessments made in previous cases, most recently in 2022, contributed to higher market volatility and led to premature stock releases that ultimately proved unnecessary.
"It is crucial that commentary on market conditions be grounded in verified data and sound analysis, especially during sensitive geopolitical situations," the statement reads.
On the morning of June 13, Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. The attacks killed numerous high-ranking military officials, including Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Also killed were several members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), such as IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami, Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters Commander Gholamali Rashid, six nuclear scientists, and others.