Iran expects OPEC exemption from new oil output deal

Iran says it should be exempted from any oil production cut deal as long as it remains under “illegal” US sanctions.

The announcement was made by Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh on his way to a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to discuss the latest market conditions.

“We should be excluded from any decision about the level of production in the future until the lifting of the imposed illegal sanctions,” Zanganeh told reporters upon arrival in Vienna.

“Iran will not involve itself in any deal over OPEC production levels.”

The Organization will meet on Thursday and hold talks with allies such as Russia on Friday. The meetings are expected to be focused on a deal to reduce output.

However, Iran has already announced that it does not expect a deal to be reached.

Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, the country’s envoy to OPEC, said earlier this week that any meaningful cuts in production must be made by the countries which have pumped above their quotas in breach of a 2017 deal between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers.

Kazempour Ardebili added that certain member states had been allowed to produce above their quotas since May despite being “obliged to inform other OPEC members of any change in production and secure their consensus.”