TEHRAN, Jan 18:  Tehran wants Riyadh to help stop the continuous oil price slump so as to protect the economies of the region's oil producing countries, Tasnim news agency quoted a senior Iranian foreign ministry official as saying yesterday.
"We have told Saudi Arabian officials through diplomatic channels that they should prevent the enemies of the region from harming the growing economies of regional countries," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir- Abdollahian said.
The talks were held between the officials of the two countries on the sidelines of a recent meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
They urged the all related nations in the area to adopt an oil policy that benefits the whole region, he said.
"We expect Saudi Arabia to play its major role in (controlling) crude prices to help the regional countries," he said.
The senior Iranian diplomat also said the oil price decline was a product of "intentional or unintentional" schemes by some countries to undermine the growing economies in the region.
On Tuesday, Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, said that some major oil producing countries, including Saudi Arabia, will suffer more than Iran in the face of slumping crude prices.
In the budget for the next Iranian year, starting on March 21.    ?Xinhua