In the wake of Venezuela’s call for an emergency OPEC meeting, Iran’s Oil Minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said that such a meeting would hurt the crude oil market, unless it reached a decision to shore up falling prices, Reuters reported. Iran and Gulf members of the OPEC have been jointly rebuffing Venezuela’s push for such a move.

Venezuela sought to prop up oil prices that had inflicted a significant blow to the country’s shrinking economy with a decline of up to 10% and inflation hitting 159%, according to the International Monetary Fund’s data. In addition, the price of Venezuela’s heavy oil continues tumbling to a $21.63 a barrel average, hitting a 14-year low, Latin American Herald Tribune informed. Further, investors and analysts have warned that the state-owned oil company, PDVSA, that owes some $10b in external debts – due this year, may lead to further economic difficulties in the country, according to Buenos Aires Herald.

The next scheduled meeting of OPEC is to take place in June. Meanwhile, UN has stripped Venezuela and Bahrain of their voting rights due to unsettled debts in payments of the UN membership, RT wrote.