Officials say competition between the countries is healthy. But tensions are mounting over energy quotas, regional conflicts and their different visions for the Middle East.

The United Arab Emirates will leave OPEC effective Friday, stripping the oil cartel of its third-largest producer and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices.

President Donald Trump, a longtime critic of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), who has accused the group of "ripping off the rest of the world,” on Wednesday praised the United Arab Emirates’ plan to leave the alliance by the end of the month and said he thinks it will ultimately lower the price of oil.

The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday that it will leave OPEC effective May 1 – a shocking blow to the world’s largest oil cartel that could help drive down gasoline prices.

Officials in the United Arab Emirates have framed their decision to quit the OPEC group of oil producing nations as an opportunity to respond more nimbly to the energy crisis caused by the Iran war.

The Iran war risked reigniting after the U.S. tried to force open the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping, though a ceasefire seemed to be holding Tuesday even after the United Arab Emirates said Iran fired missiles and drones at it.

New attacks were reported in the United Arab Emirates and Oman on Monday, and U.S. Central Command said Navy ships shot down Iranian c