Zanganeh: Iran seeks oil market stability

The minister said certain oil-producing countries opposed the lifting of sanctions on Iran right from the start and for this reason they tried to keep oil prices as low as possible in a push to harm Iran's economy, Shana reported.

"Currently, the oil market is glutted by more than 2 mbd reducing prices dramatically," said the official.

"Iran has never had a role in the market's instability," he said reacting to claims by rival crude oil producers that Tehran is the causing volatility in the global crude oil market.

By joining the oil freeze plan, Iran would implicitly accede to the sanctions after years of hard work and resistance for having them lifted, he added, saying, "If Iran kept its crude oil output at January levels, it would mean the sanctions were never lifted and exports would need to stay at the time the country was targeted by international restrictions."

Zanganeh said that the Doha meeting is a beginning for cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC crude oil producers and would hopefully lead to market stability, adding, Iran will continue to play its role in restoring stability to the crude oil market.