Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has issued a pointed warning of the economic squeeze facing Iran amid critical negotiations with the 5+1 Powers for a comprehensive nuclear agreement.
Facing a 30% fall in the global price of oil, Iran�s main export,�Zanganeh said on Saturday, �Iran intends to adopt a contractionary monetary policy for next year and raise tax revenues to compensate for the effects of the oil price slide.�

Zanganeh�s declaration echoes the statement of President Rouhani to MPs earlier this month.

Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) resumes their negotiations in Vienna on Tuesday, six days before the expiry of interim arrangements over Tehran�s nuclear program.

Zanganeh said the Government would try to shore up the economy �by drawing upon its National Development Fund to reimburse contractors active in upstream projects�[to] make up for the impact of oil revenue decline on these projects�.

The Minister said Iran would try to encourage a cut in global oil output to prop up a price which has falling from almost $120 per barrel in June to about $80 per barrel in November; however,�he admitted the outcome would probably be limited.

�Returning to previous oil prices is difficult, but we should modify prices as much as the new market situation allows,� he said after a meeting with the Venezuelan Foreign Minister in Tehran.

President Rouhani subsequently appealed�to the Foreign Minister, Rafael Ramirez:
�The sudden fluctuations in oil prices (negatively) influence the stability of the global market and hence we should try to maintain balance in oil prices�.

Tehran and Caracas should always stand beside each other and they should help each other to prevent the enemies from harming their national interest.
By EA WorldView

 

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