Iran opposes Saudi unilateral oil output hike

TEHRAN: Iran said on Tuesday that any move by OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia to raise its oil output without a consensus from fellow members of the oil cartel would be "wrong".

"If Saudi Arabia takes a measure to unilaterally increase (oil) output, it is a wrong move," Mohammad Ali Khatibi, Iran's new representative to OPEC, was quoted as saying by the state television website.

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had told him it would increase its oil output by a further 200,000 barrels a day in July, although it was not clear if Khatibi was reacting to these comments.

Saudi is also organising talks among major oil producers and consumers in the Red Sea city of Jeddah next week to discuss the current sky-rocketing prices.

Iran is OPEC's number two producer and has consistently argued that the high oil price has nothing to do with market fundementals and OPEC's output should not be increased.