Iraqi prime minister discusses oil price stability with Saudi king
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud discussed in a phone call Monday coordination over stabilizing oil prices, Al Arabiya TV channel reported.
“The talks were primarily over the brotherly countries cooperating in the OPEC conference for oil and energy ministers currently being held in Vienna to regulate oil market affairs, and coordination between the two countries to achieve oil price stability in the coming period,” Abdul Mahdi’s office said in a statement.
U.S. officials have concluded that drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in May were launched from Iraq, not Yemen, raising concerns that Iran’s allies in the region are trying to open a new front in the conflict between Tehran and Washington.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Abdul Mahdi to take steps to ensure that Iraq isn’t used as a new staging ground for attacks. Iraqi leaders are questioning the U.S. assessment and have asked the Trump administration for more evidence to support its claims.
The Wall Street Journal did not provide any additional information about its sources, or the intelligence it relied on to make its assessment.
The report comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, which the U.S. has accused of planning to attack American forces in the Middle East.