November 30, 2003	Sunday	Shawwal 5, 1424

TEHRAN, Nov 29: Iran said on Saturday it was standing firmly behind its own candidate for secretary general of the oil cartel Opec and warned that it would not vote for any other.

“If they (the other members) don’t vote for Iran’s candidate ... there is no reason Iran should vote for others,” Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said.

Venezuela’s Alvaro Silva Calderon is seeking a new mandate as chief of the Opec, but both Iran and Kuwait have also put up candidates for the strategically important post.

The Iranian minister said Tehran’s position had not changed.—AFP