The logo of the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is seen at the organization's headquarter on the eve of the 164th OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria on December 3, 2013. (AFP photo)
TEHRAN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran will not be a part of any agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) over quota reduction as long as it is the target of U.S. sanctions, an Iranian official said on Thursday.
"Iran should be exempted from any decision (by the OPEC) concerning the (oil) output cuts," Iran's Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said upon arrival in Vienna of Austria to attend an OPEC meeting, according to official IRNA news agency.
Other member states of the OPEC should decide on their output cut to regulate the market, he was quoted as saying.
The Iranian minister refrained from answering the question of Iran's current level of crude production and exports, saying that revealing such data "would help U.S. increase its pressures on Iran."
U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the landmark 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in May, and re-imposed comprehensive sanctions on Tehran, including the country's oil exports and financial sectors.
An OPEC meeting on Thursday will discuss cut of oil output by the cartel seeking to re-balance the market amid surprise slips of the oil prices over the past weeks.
