Comments by Iranian oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh

- If OPEC wants to stay relevant, decision should be made at OPEC meetings
- Says Iran has no difficulty with OPEC output cuts deal extension
- Says 6 to 9-months extension are acceptable either way
- But rejects any long-term OPEC+ charter
- Says unilateral decision by some OPEC member can lead to group’s collapse
- Sanctions must be lifted as first step towards talks with the US
- If US wants change, it should respect Iran
He’s mainly alluding to reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia had come to an agreement to extend the OPEC+ output cuts deal for about six to nine months over the weekend, before the OPEC/OPEC+ meetings take place later today and tomorrow.
In either case, most OPEC decisions in the past had long been a “Saudi-led majority” so it doesn’t surprise me that the most influential member of the pact pulls off a stunt like this. After all, they want oil prices higher and at the same time wants to eat into Iran’s market share amid US sanctions.