Putin and Iran's Pezeshkian Rally Gas Giants Against Western Sanctions at Moscow Summit
Moscow flexed its muscles as the global energy capital, hosting the eighth Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit, a major gathering of nations holding the world's largest natural gas reserves. Heads of state and senior energy officials converged at the World Trade Centre, aiming to forge a united front amid geopolitical fractures and the relentless pressure of Western sanctions.
Russia's strategic intent was clear as it reclaimed its role as host for the second time since 2013. President Vladimir Putin chaired the plenary session, framing Western unilateral sanctions as economic unfairness that harms both producers and consumers. He aligned his stance with Iran's, urging GECF members to band together against external economic pressures.
The GECF's twelve full members control about 70 percent of the world's proven natural gas reserves and account for roughly 39 percent of global marketed production. Eight observer nations, including Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, and Senegal, participated alongside them. Turkmenistan attended as a special guest, represented by Türkmengaz chairman Maksat Babayev, emphasizing the summit's geographic reach into some of the world's most gas-rich territories.
The summit's most striking moment came from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who labeled US sanctions and economic coercion as "economic terrorism." He argued these measures erode market confidence, inflate hydrocarbon costs, and undermine stable supply agreements. Pezeshkian called for a collective condemnation of such actions and a practical response from major energy exporters.
Pezeshkian didn't stop at trade policy; he criticized US military activity in the Persian Gulf for destabilizing pricing mechanisms and disrupting supply flows. He also pointed to Israeli military operations as a source of added instability, urging GECF nations to enhance cooperation across the entire energy value chain—from extraction to final delivery—to shield against geopolitical interference.
During the summit, Pezeshkian countered narratives portraying Iran's energy sector as crippled by external pressures. He claimed Iran's annual gas production capacity stands at 280 billion cubic meters, showcasing growth despite escalating restrictions. As a founding GECF member with the second-largest proven natural gas reserves, he argued for a more significant role for Tehran in multilateral energy decision-making. He highlighted that gas supplies approximately 70 percent of Iran's domestic energy needs, reaching around 95 percent of its population—figures his government uses to assert that sanctions have failed to dismantle its energy backbone.
The GECF began in 2001 as an informal dialogue group and adopted its intergovernmental structure in 2008. Unlike OPEC, it does not impose output limits but coordinates shared positions and provides market analysis, giving gas-exporting governments a collective voice in global energy governance. The summit concluded with the Moscow Declaration, establishing agreed principles on supply security and producer coordination.
Kremlin adviser Anton Kobyakov previewed the summit as a platform for Russia to propose "balanced solutions" amid rapid changes in global energy markets. The outcome—a unified declaration, coordinated opposition to Western sanctions, and a call for producer solidarity—indicates that the GECF is evolving into a geopolitical entity rather than merely a technical body in an era where energy commerce and power politics have merged.