SHANA – Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said meetings of US special representative for Iran Brian Hook in Vienna with some OPEC members were unprofessional, naïve and meddlesome.

Speaking to Shana in Istanbul en route to Vienna on Wednesday to attend the 175th OPEC Meeting, the official firmly stated that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was not part of the US Department of Energy.

“If Mr. Hook has come to Vienna to apply for US membership in OPEC, and this is the reason why he meets OPEC members, this request shall be reviewed,” he added, one day before the 175th meeting of the oil-producing group.

"Otherwise, he has adopted an unprofessional, naïve and meddlesome approach. OPEC is an independent organization and is not part of the US Department of Energy to take orders from Washington.”

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih met with U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook in Vienna on Wednesday, sources familiar with the meeting said.

Hook, a senior policy adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, met with Falih a day ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna which is due to debate oil production cuts, New York Times reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Saudi Arabia to refrain from output cuts in order to keep oil prices low.