Bolsonaro Says US Attack on Irani General ‘Will Impact’ Fuel Prices in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday, January 3rd, that the US attack at the Iraqi airport, in which Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was killed, “will impact” the price of fuel in Brazil.

The US action was ordered by President Donald Trump. Soleimani, viewed as a national hero and the country’s greatest military leader, headed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

According to the United States, the airstrike at an airport in Baghdad was a response to US deaths in the Middle East attributed by the Trump administration to Iranian authorities.

The oil price on the international market reacted immediately and rose sharply following the attack. Iran and Iraq are among the world’s largest producers.

Bolsonaro was questioned by journalists upon leaving the Alvorada Palace whether he was assessing any measure to contain the rise in fuel prices in Brazil.

“This will have an impact. Now, let’s see our limit here. What I would like you to do is show the people two things: first, that I can’t set prices on anything. They’ve asked me to set the price of meat. We had such a policy of setting the price of meat in the past and it didn’t work out,” said the president.

Bolsonaro said he tried to discuss the impact on fuel with the Minister of Finance, Paulo Guedes and the president of Petrobras, Roberto Castello Branco on Friday morning, but neither of them had been available.

The journalists asked Bolsonaro if there was any alternative, other than price-setting, to mitigate a possible increase in fuel prices. The president said he will “talk to those who understand” to find a solution.

“I will talk to those who understand. Brazil is doing well because I don’t get into everything. I seek information,” he concluded.

He also said he will meet with Augusto Heleno, Minister of the Office of Institutional Security (GSI), to learn further details on the US attack.