Iran oil minister criticizes US sanctions at GECF meeting in Moscow

Addressing the 28th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Moscow, Iran's Acting Oil Minister Hamid Bovard said that the recent US-Israeli war against Iran has once again demonstrated that energy security is not merely an economic or technical issue. He began his remarks by honoring the martyrs of the recent US-Israeli aggression against Iran, paying special tribute to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, as well as innocent civilians, including the children of the Minab school and athletes of the Lamerd sports club. He warned that such acts of aggression have consequences that extend far beyond regional borders, threatening global energy supply and economic development.

Bovard stated that US military interventions in various regions, including the Persian Gulf, and unilateral economic sanctions not only target the legitimate rights and interests of the Iranian nation but also negatively impact the climate of trust, investment security, and the predictability of global energy markets. He highlighted the GECF's 25th anniversary and called for a unified front against unbalanced climate regulations, specifically criticizing mechanisms like the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which he said threaten to impose unfair restrictions on energy trade and investment.

The acting oil minister proposed an ambitious new roadmap for the GECF secretariat to increase the share of natural gas in the global energy mix to an unprecedented 30 percent. According to the forum's global gas outlook, worldwide demand for natural gas is projected to surge by 31 percent to over 5,400 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2055, raising its share in the global energy basket from 23 to 26 percent.

According to Mehr News, Bovard's remarks were made during the GECF ministerial meeting in Moscow, where he also paid tribute to the martyrs of the recent conflict and outlined Iran's proposals for the forum's future direction.