Iran says it blocked OPEC oil output increase

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jun. 13 – Iran’s top oil official said on Sunday that Tehran managed to prevent OPEC from increasing its output during the oil cartel’s latest meeting last Wednesday.

Iran Focus

Tehran, Jun. 13 – Iran’s top oil official said on Sunday that Tehran managed to prevent OPEC from increasing its output during the oil cartel’s latest meeting last Wednesday.

Mohammad Aliabadi, Iran’s caretaker oil minister, stated it was due to Iran’s reasoning and co-operation from other countries that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to keep its output low thus countering the “desire” of the United States and its allies for an output hike.

Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported Aliabadi made the comments at the end of a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

“In the recent meeting of OPEC held in Vienna the three countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait tried to put into effect the decision they made last month in their meetings in the US to increase OPEC’s output”, he said, adding that Tehran opposed their decision on the grounds that the they were acting as “coordinators for the US” in OPEC.

“Most OPEC member-states agreed with Iran’s strategy which was avoiding an increase in the output”, he said.