Saudi Arabia ? In his opening address of a rare OPEC summit, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned the United States on Saturday that oil prices would further surge if the U.S. contemplates an attack against his country or Iran.

Minutes after Chavez declared that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should “assert itself as an active political agent,” Saudi King Abdullah appeared to rebuke the Venezuelan, insisting that “OPEC has always acted moderately and wisely.”

“Oil shouldn’t be a tool for conflict, it should be a tool for development,” said the king, a close U.S. ally whose country is the world’s largest oil producer.

The OPEC summit opened Saturday in Saudi Arabia, with heads of states and delegates from 12 of the world’s biggest oil-producing nations. Chavez warned that the U.S. should not target OPEC members for foreign policy reasons.