Iran warns Saudi against raising oil output

Iran warns Saudi against raising oil output

TEHRAN , Jan (Agencies): Iran on Tuesday warned Saudi Arabia to reconsider its vow to make up for any shortfall in Iranian oil exports under new sanctions, saying Riyadh’s pledge to step into the market was unfriendly. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi issued the warning in remarks carried by state media. “We invite Saudi officials to further reflect and consider” their offer to compensate for curbed Iranian oil exports, Salehi said.He attacked comments by Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi that Saudi oil output could be boosted by around 2.6 million barrels per day — the same amount that Iran exports — and that the world will not permit Iran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz. “These signals are not friendly signals,” Salehi said. “Iran expects all Persian Gulf countries, in particular Saudi Arabia ... to avoid making rash remarks.” He also said that “the security of the Persian Gulf is a collective security and Iran is a major player in this regard.”Iran has already told Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing Arab neighbours that if they step in to compensate for Iranian oil exports cut under looming EU and US sanctions, it “would not consider these actions to be friendly.”Tehran’s representative to OPEC, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, was quoted as saying on Sunday that those countries.