Iran is determined to raise its oil output as planned as soon as sanctions on its oil industry are lifted, Mehdi Asali, its representative to the OPEC producers’ group, said on Saturday. The international sanctions were expected to be scrapped later on Saturday as part of a landmark deal between major powers and Iran to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. Asali appeared to strike a defiant tone, contradicting earlier comments from other senior Iranian oil officials that Iran would not flood the market at a time of global oversupply and an oil price crash. Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said this month Iran would not seek to distort markets but would make sure it regained its market share. But the state news agency IRNA quoted Asali as saying: “We […]