At the beginning of this meeting, Iranian Minister of Petroleum, Javad Oji, on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, read a statement to express gratitude to these countries for expressing their sympathy and companionship with the government and people of Iran.

Haitham Al Ghais Secretary General of OPEC, Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the GECF and other officials sent messages of condolences to Iranian minister of petroleum after the Iranian president lost his life during a chopper crash last month.

Raisi was on his way back from the opening ceremony of a dam on Aras River when the chopper carrying him and 7 others crashed in the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan. He was going to inaugurate several oil refining projects and an oil products pipeline in Tabriz the capital of East Azerbaijan province.

The 188th Meeting of the OPEC Conference is underway now, June 2, via videoconference. In addition to the OPEC Conference, the 54th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) and the 37th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (ONOMM) is held today to discuss oil market situation and make appropriate decisions to the benefit of its stability.