IRGC chief: Laughter at UN a sign of US isolation
Trump should stop interfering in the Middle East if he wants cheap oil, says oil minister
GENEVA (Reuters) – Laughter during US President Donald Trump’s speech to the UN General Assembly was a sign of the United States’ isolation, the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday, Fars News reported.
“You saw and heard their laughter,” Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said, according to Fars. “The message of this ridicule was the crumbling of your facade and the increased isolation of America, and this was a big political disgrace.”
Some delegates at the General Assembly on Tuesday laughed and muttered when Trump, in a speech, praised the “extraordinary” achievements of his administration.
“You can be sure that the people of Iran and the region are laughing at your completely false and ridiculous claims, but you can’t hear their laughter from far away.”
Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani exchanged taunts at the assembly session, with Trump threatening more sanctions against Tehran and Rouhani suggesting the US president suffered from a “weakness of intellect.”
“America is the symbol of oppression in the world,” Jafari said. “And the oppressed and those in pursuit of freedom are uniting against them.”
Meanwhile, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying on Wednesday that Trump should stop interfering in the Middle East if he wants the price of oil to stop rising.
“Mr. Trump is trying to seriously reduce exports of Iran’s oil and also ensure the price of oil does not go up, but these two cannot happen together,” Zanganeh said, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.
“If he wants the price of oil not to go up and the market not to get destabilized, he should stop unwarranted and disruptive interference in the Middle East and not be an obstacle to the production and export of Iran’s oil.”
Trump, not the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is behind the recent rise in prices, Zanganeh said.
“Trump blames OPEC for what he has created and caused: the rise of the price of oil and disturbance in the market.”
OPEC members do not have the capacity to increase production, Zanganeh said.
In a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, Trump reiterated calls on OPEC to pump more oil and stop raising prices. He also accused Iran of sowing chaos and promised further sanctions on the country.
The United States will apply sanctions to halt oil exports from Iran, the third-largest producer in OPEC, starting on November 4. The pending loss of Iranian supply has been a major factor in the recent surge in crude prices.