Tehran, June 17, IRNA � Iran rose to the third place in the list of producers of the Oil Producing and Exproting Countries, a report said.

The OPEC announced in its Monthly Oil Market Report that that Iran outpaced United Arab Emirates in May.

Referring to Iran as the third leading producer within the organization, it noted that �Iran produced 2.845 million barrels of oil per day in May�, ranking it �behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq at third place.�

According to the report, the UAE produced 2.83 million barrels of oil per day in May. Saudi Arabia and Iraq were the two leading producers, with 10.107 million barrels per day and 3.8 million barrels per day output, respectively.

Based on the report, total OPEC crude oil production averaged 30.98 million barrels per day in May, an increase of 24 thousand barrels per day over the previous month.

The share of OPEC crude oil in total global production increased slightly to 32.9 percent in May compared with the previous month at 32.8 percent.

The issue got a favorable coverage with many world media, including the US �Wall Street Journal� and the �VOA�.

Earlier, In the 167th Meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iran�s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh submitted a letter to the world body, which caught the attention of member states.

In the letter, Zangeneh said that Tehran would not hesitate to increase its oil output once anti-Iran sanctions are lifted.

He said Iran would not wait for the permission from OPEC to increase its production.

The minister explicitly stated that Iran aims to reclaim its former market share in the oil market and export 2.5 million barrels a day.

His remarks were significant in that they indicated that OPEC members realized Iran�s influential position and the fact that Iran can considerably impact oil prices.

Prior to his remarks, oil experts believed that Iran would not expand its output without permission from OPEC.

Some Persian Gulf littoral states spare no efforts to undermine Iran�s energy clout in the region.

This is because they are perturbed that Iran can regain its privileged status in the oil market, which has been hindered by sanctions.

Once sanctions are scrapped, Iran�s oil earnings will take off. As a result, the country�s energy infrastructures will be strongly promoted.

Iran, Venezuela and Libya regulated the oil market before the sanctions were imposed on Tehran. At that time, Saudi Arabia did not have a decisive role independently.

Since the imposition of sanctions on Iran, other countries have increased their output to meet market demand. But they must cut their oil production once sanctions are removed. Iran is entitled to regain its quota in OPEC.

By IRNA