Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said that Tehran will not accept any plan entailing freezing of oil production.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)�� Tehran will not accept any plan entailing freezing of�oil production, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said Sunday.

"I even had discussions with�Saudi oil minister at�that meeting [in Doha, Qatar, in�April] because they wanted us to�lower oil production in�our country to�the levels of�early 2016. I said to�him, �You have got to�be kidding!,�" Zangeneh said, as�quoted by�the IRINN television channel.

Iran got the opportunity to�resume oil trade since�it reached an agreement with�leading world powers, according to�which it pledged to�guarantee the peaceful nature of�its nuclear activities in�exchange for�the sanctions against�it being lifted.

The decision came amid�a global oil price slump due to�oversupplies of�crude. In February, the energy ministers of�Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and Russia addressed the oil market situation in�Doha and agreed to�freeze oil production at�January levels if other countries followed suit.

At the latest Organization of�the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in�Doha in�mid-April, the sides failed to�agree on�freezing crude oil output levels at�January levels to�shore up�prices after�Riyadh had unexpectedly backed out�of an all-but-certain agreement. Saudi Arabia continues to�insist that Iran, which only recently reappeared in�the energy market after�years of�international sanctions and has been boosting its oil sales, should be part of�any production cuts.

By Sputnik News