An editorial in the Tehran Times a conservative English-language daily published by the Islamic Guidance and Communications Organization, criticized Opec for what it said was giving into Western pressure, when it agreed last week to raise output by 3 percent, or 800,000 barrels per day (bpd).
According to the newspaper, the Western governments are more to blame for the soaring fuel prices than are Opec member states. This is because the governments impose heavy taxes and duties on imported crude, meaning that consumers in those countries buy fuel at almost twice the price sold by the oil exporters, wrote.
“The fact is that as long as crude oil is heavily taxed by the Western countries, raising the oil output will not benefit the consumers in those countries. Thus, the experts in the field should try to work out some mechanisms for ensuring the interests of both oil producers and consumers,” the editorial said. – (Albawaba-MEBG)
