Saudi Arabia, together with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Venezuela, was a founding member of which organisation established in 1960?

The correct answer is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, known as OPEC, which was founded in Baghdad in September 1960 by five countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Venezuela. These founding members shared a common interest in coordinating petroleum production and pricing policies at a time when international oil companies largely controlled crude oil prices without consulting the producing nations themselves. OPEC is correct here because its founding charter and historical membership records specifically list these five states as the original signatories who established the organisation to unify and safeguard the interests of oil-producing countries, both individually and collectively. Gulf Cooperation Council is incorrect because that body was founded much later, in 1981, by a different group of six Gulf Arab monarchies, namely Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, and its purpose is regional political and economic cooperation rather than oil-price coordination, and it notably excludes Iran and Venezuela entirely. Arab League is incorrect because it was established in 1945 by Arab states primarily for political cooperation among Arab nations, and it does not include Iran or Venezuela, both of which are non-Arab OPEC founders. Non-Aligned Movement is incorrect because it was formed in 1961 by countries seeking to avoid alignment with either the Western or Soviet blocs during the Cold War, a purpose entirely unrelated to petroleum policy. A frequent exam confusion is mixing up OPEC with GCC simply because both involve Saudi Arabia and Gulf oil politics; the reliable distinguishing fact is that OPEC's founding lineup spans multiple continents including Latin America, while GCC membership is strictly limited to Gulf Arab monarchies.