Iran's Foreign Minister Expects Global Oil Prices to Stabilize

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that he expected the stabilization of the world oil prices in the near future.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Zarif told European lawmakers in Brussels that there were real opportunities for more stable oil prices.

The crude oil prices plunged from $115 per barrel to $48.5 per barrel between June 2014 and January 2015, hitting the lowest levels since 2004 in January 2016, which was below $28 a barrel. Despite recovering slightly recently, the prices have remained below the $35-per-barrel mark.

Earlier in the day, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar agreed to freeze oil production at January levels if other countries followed suit.

Shortly after that, Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Masoud Hashemian Esfahani said that Tehran was calling for broad international cooperation to increase oil prices, and would try by different means to achieve this goal.

In mid-January, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified Tehran’s compliance with the agreement on its nuclear program, which resulted in the removal of anti-Tehran international sanctions. The move makes it possible for Iran to reassume an active role on the global oil market as a cheap oil producer and the country with interest in economic development.