Trump threatens Middle Eastern countries over oil prices: ‘OPEC monopoly must get prices down now’

President Trump on Thursday suggested that the U.S. may reconsider military support for countries in the Middle East if members of OPEC don’t bring down oil prices.

“We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!” Trump tweeted.

We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 20, 2018

The president’s tweet comes ahead of a scheduled meeting among OPEC members and Russian officials this weekend, when representatives are likely to discuss whether to increase oil output.

{mosads}The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that OPEC members will be hesitant to increase supply significantly, in part because the Trump administration’s trade disputes have affected global markets.

Meanwhile, Iran warned that it would veto any decision from the group that harms its national interests as it reels from sanctions implemented by the Trump administration last month.

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran’s oil minister, said any decision on a new production agreement would be “void” and “invalid” without Iran’s support, Bloomberg reported.

Trump has previously taken aim at OPEC through Twitter, referring to it as a monopoly on multiple occasions. In July, he accused the organization of oil exporters of doing “little to help” rising gas prices.

In June, he again blamed the organization for “artificially high” gas prices, tweeting that “OPEC is at it again.”