Addressing the 179th ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries through videoconference, he said: “I honestly believe his departure was a major loss to us in Iran as well as to OPEC and the oil industry as a whole.”

He said that Kazempour had truly defended Iran’s interests while trying to strike a balance between OPEC member states.

Zangeneh said that he was a man of integrity and vision for the OPEC family.

Kazempour Ardebili had survived the June 1981 bombing at the headquarters of the Islamic Republic party in Tehran. He served as minister of commerce from 1980 to 1981. Then he served as deputy minister of foreign affairs for economy for four years before becoming deputy minister of petroleum for international affairs and Board member at National Iranian Oil Company, which he held for five years.

Kazempour Ardebili was appointed Iran’s ambassador to Japan in 1990 and remained in this post for five years. In 1995, he was named Iran’s OPEC governor and remained in this post until the end of the second term of Mohammad Khatami in 2005.
He was again reappointed Iran’s OPEC governor in 2013.

A key figure in Iran’s petroleum industry, Kazempour Ardebili has protected Iran’s national interests throughout all negotiations.

When he joined Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum, oil was traded at $6 a barrel.