Iran believes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel should further slash output in the face of falling crude oil prices, a newspaper reported Monday.
"OPEC decided to cut production by 1.5 million barrels (a day) in October, but it could not stop oil prices from falling," Iran's OPEC envoy Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted a saying by the Resalat daily.
"So it appears that OPEC needs to further reduce production to prevent this trend," Khatibi said.
Iran is the second largest exporter in OPEC, which produces about 40% of the world's crude, and its economy is heavily dependent on oil revenues.
The cartel is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting on Nov. 29 in Egypt amid speculation that member nations will agree to cut output again in a bid to boost plunging oil prices.
Prices are now far off July's record highs of above $147, with New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, at $50.56 a barrel in early trading Monday.
Iran's central bank warned this month that if oil prices fall below $60 a barrel, the country will struggle to survive the world financial crisis.
The bank's deputy for economic affairs said that with a minimum price of $60, Iran would still need to tap savings from oil revenues to cover its budget needs.
Crude oil income accounts for 80% of the country's foreign earnings.
Since his 2005 election, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has gone on a spending spree on the back of soaring oil prices, injecting cash into local infrastructure and granting low-interest business loans to create jobs.
He dismissed concerns Monday about the effect of falling oil prices on the budget.
"Even if we reach a point that our enemies do not buy any of our oil the Iranian nation can take care of itself," the state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
"With God's help oil price fluctuations cannot have a decisive impact on next year's budget and after. Our investment and production will proceed," added Ahmadinejad, whose term in office ends in seven months.