Saudi-Iran Rivalries High Ahead of OPEC Meeting OPEC ministers are coming into a meeting deeply divided over how much crude to pump, with Saudi Arabia keen to keep a lid on prices, rival Iran pushing to cut production and Iraq expected to back Iran, its longtime foe under Saddam Hussein. The divisions will test the unity of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which sees itself as the oil market's prime regulator. The 12-nation group is likely to paper over differences Thursday by deciding to leave output unchanged despite the current overproduction. But the disagreements might be too deep to resolve and the meeting could break up in disarray. The gathering comes as many of the world's major consuming nations are struggling against a stubborn economic downturn that could be exacerbated by any decision to inflate oil prices by cutting supply. But Thursday's meeting has a significant geostrategic dimension as well. Sanctions levied by the U.S. over Tehran's refusal to curb its nuclear program have already cut significantly into exports of Iranian crude - from about 2.5 million barrels a day last year to between 1.2 and 1.8 million barrels now, according to estimates by U.S. officials. A European Union embargo on Iranian crude that starts July 1 will tighten the squeeze. Traditional rivals Saudi Arabia - a Sunni Muslim nation - and Shiite Muslim Iran are jockeying for influence in the Middle East as well as in OPEC. Saudi Arabia's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Ibrahim Naimi listens to a speech during a seminar of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), at Vienna's Hofburg palace, Austria, Wednesday, June 13, 2012. OPEC is holding its quarterly meeting Thursday against a backdrop of a 24 percent crude price decline over the last month or so. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Close Iran has warned the Saudis not to use the oil weapon against it by increasing supplies to countries that no longer get Iranian crude due to the sanctions. Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi has denied such intentions, telling reporters his country sells to whoever buys. "We don't sit and say 'we want to sell to this country or that country (or) whatever," he said. But Saudi overproduction is clearly rankling the Iranians. In comments to Iran's Mehr news agency, former Iranian oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari noted that "political issues have overshadowed OPEC," while analysts say the Saudi-Iranian enmity cannot be ignored. "Saudi barrels have already been replaced Iranian barrels from the partial embargo in place, and they will replace even more barrels after July 1st," said Jason Schenker of Prestige Economics. As such, there is going to be some serious tension between the members at this OPEC meeting. In another manifestation of their rivalries, both Iran and the Saudis are fielding candidates for the post of OPEC secretary general, to be filled in December when Abdullah Al-Badry of Libya retires. But Ecuador is also in the race, along with Iraq, and expectations are high that the ministers will opt for Wilson Pastor of Ecuador at this meeting or the next as a compromise. Iran and fellow price hawk Venezuela see $100 as a fair price for a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude - a level substantially above the present price. An OPEC report released Wednesday showed that its members are already producing nearly 33 million barrels a day - close to 3 million barrels more than its overall quota and the most it has pushed out in four years. Plentiful supply and weakening demand from the United States, China and the European Union have caused prices to sink more than 20 percent over recent months, with U.S. benchmark crude now about $83 a barrel and Brent, used to price international varieties of crude, below $100 a barrel.