Pls stop it': Iran OPEC says Trump's tweets are driving up oil prices

Iran's governor for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said President Donald Trump's tweets complaining about oil prices are only serving to drive prices higher, Bloomberg reported.

Trump has criticized the "OPEC Monopoly" in recent days for not doing enough to reduce oil and gas prices.

"Your tweets have driven the prices up by at least $10 per barrel," OPEC Governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili said, according to the Iranian Oil Ministry's Shana news service. "Pls stop it, otherwise it will go even higher!"

What's the conflict?

As the Trump administration prepares to re-impose sanctions on companies that purchase Iranian crude oil, Iran is responding by threatening to pull back the amount of oil it exports to neighboring countries, which could significantly disrupt the world supply.

Sanctions and economic uncertainty in Venezuela, as well as fighting in Libya have also led to large declines in those countries' respective oil output, with no indications of when or if those countries will be able to bounce back.

Trump took aim at OPEC for not doing enough to offset the supply disruptions and keep down the oil prices, which have risen to their highest mark in more than three years.

"The OPEC Monopoly must remember that gas prices are up & they are doing little to help," Trump tweeted Wednesday. "If anything, they are driving prices higher as the United States defends many of their members for very little $'s. This must be a two way street. REDUCE PRICING NOW!"

Misdirected attacks?

Kazempour said that Trump is mistakenly attacking some of the "good guys" who are working to boost their output to compensate for Iran, Venezuela and Libya.

"You are hammering on good guys in OPEC," Kazempour said, according to Bloomberg. "You are actually discrediting them and undermining their sovereignty, we expect you to be more polite.

"OPEC has not defined oil prices for the past 30 years," Kazempour continued. "You impose sanctions on major producers, founders of OPEC, and yet you are asking them to reduce prices?! Since when did you start ordering OPEC!"