Iran Says West Is Using Oil as Political Weapon

Iran’s oil minister played down prospects of war and denied his country was losing oil income due to sanctions on its nuclear program, while blaming western nations for soaring international fuel prices.

Some oil-importing countries are using the commodity as a political weapon, Rostam Qasemi said today in an interview at the International Energy Forum in Kuwait. Those “unreasonable measures” will raise costs for governments pursuing them and bolster Iran’s oil revenue, he said.