Zangeneh: Accepting 'Oil Freeze' by Tehran Means Continuation of Sanctions

Iran's Minister of Oil, Bijan Zangeneh, following the inconclusive meeting of oil producers in Doha, stated that accepting the proposal to freeze oil production by Iran would mean 'that sanctions against Iran have not been lifted and Iran's oil exports would be stabilized at the level of the sanctions period.' According to reports from Iranian news agencies, on April 30, Zangeneh said that accepting the so-called 'oil freeze' plan by Iran would lead to stabilizing oil production at the level of January this year. This meant 'that Iran would voluntarily accept the sanctions that were lifted after years of struggle and resistance by the nation.' Zangeneh stated that 'Iran has no responsibility for destabilizing the oil market and those who are responsible for this instability and have saturated the market are escaping from it.' The Iranian Oil Minister also emphasized that the existence of more than 2 million barrels of excess oil supply in the market has led to a 'sharp decline' in oil prices. The oil production stabilization meeting, or the 'oil freeze' as it is called, was held on April 29 in Doha, Qatar, with the presence of major crude oil-producing countries and without Iran. This meeting ended without any results despite some initial reports of agreements between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Saudi Arabia and Russia together account for more than one-fifth of the world's total oil production. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly emphasized that it would stabilize oil production only if Iran also joins this plan. Tehran claims that Iran's oil production has significantly decreased during the sanctions period and is now naturally seeking to return to its previous position in the energy market. On the evening of April 28, the Iranian Oil Minister stated that Iran supports the 'freeze' plan but does not intend to sign it and will not send a representative to Qatar. In this context, the Iranian Oil Minister withdrew from participating in the oil stabilization conference in Doha, and the 'oil freeze' meeting ended without results.