Iran Says Will Work With OPEC To Support Oil Prices, But Not 'Sacrifice'

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Iran will work with other OPEC members to support oil prices, but it will not back down from its goal of restoring output lost due to years of economic sanctions.

"Iran will cooperate with OPEC on improving prices and the state of the crude market, but we expect our right to restore our lost market share to be considered," Zanganeh said, according to the ministry's SHANA news service.

"Iran had no role in disrupting the stability of the oil market," he said. "When the instability occurred in the market [in 2014], Iran's oil exports were less than 1 million barrels per day."

"We expect those who disrupted the market's stability to take the highest responsibility in restoring stability," he said. "Iran has made its sacrifices for the market and it's no longer the time for Iran."

Since sanctions were lifted in January, Tehran says it has doubled oil exports to 2.7 million barrels per day. Its total output has risen from as low as 1 million barrels a day under sanctions to 3.6 million in July, not far from Iran's pre-sanctions output level of 4 million.

Based on reporting by AFP and Oilprice.com