In a reference to Saudi Arabia’s offer to pump more oil into global markets because of impending US sanctions on Iran, Tehran has said that no member should be allowed to take another member’s share in crude oil exports, The Tribune has reported.

A senior Iranian diplomat Kazem Gharibabadi met with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo and him to ensure the politics is kept out of the grouping.

Iran’s oil ministry news agency SHANA quoted the permanent envoy to OPEC as saying, “No country is allowed to take over the share of other members for production and exports of oil under any circumstance, and the OPEC Ministerial Conference has not issued any licence for such actions.”

Oil exports from Iran were valued at $52,728 million in the year 2017 as per OPEC data.

In the month of May, US President Donald Trump had pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and planned a fresh round of sanctions on Iran. US is also pressurising other nations to stop or reduce their oil imports from Iran. Saudi Arabia plans to capitalise on the US sanctions by filling the void left by Iranian oil.

US sanctions on Iran’s energy and oil exports, financial institutions doing business with Central Bank of Iran and its shipping sector will kick in on 4 November 2018 as per the report.