[Quest:] This time yesterday, you and I were talking about the 8 percent rise in the price of oil. A barrel of West Texas is up some 30 percent over the last several sessions. Well, today, it was a wild day for crude oil. At one point, prices plunged more than 7 percent. Have a look at the map not the map, the graph. This is how it's gone. So, we've seen this nice rise, and then, take a look at how it fell off in US Brent Crude prices. Just a week ago, Light Sweet Crude hit $38 a barrel, that's WTI. Meanwhile, since prices have started to recover, climbing 30 percent in three days. Today, the dived once investors caught wind of that weak Chinese manufacturing data. All this week, we're going to be looking at the global price war surrounding oil. CNN's John Defterios spoke exclusively to Iran's oil minister, who says Tehran wants to start exporting oil as soon as sanctions allow.
[Zangeneh:] After one year, the reaction of the market and shale oil producers means and shows us that it has no important effect. And I think we are going to the point, as I said, to decide how to manage the market.
[John Defterios, Cnn Emerging Markets Editor:] Some are suggesting that Iran's poised to kill the market, though. You're planning to come by the end of March with another million barrels a day. That would take the oversupply to a 17-year high, and they're pointing the finger at Iran as spoiling market even worse than we've seen over the last 12 months.
[Zangeneh:] Can we wait and not produce after lifting the sanctions? Who can accept it in Iran? Do you believe that the nation of our country will accept it, not to produce to secure the market for others? The first oil producer in the Middle East, can we lose our share in the market? It's not fair.
[Defterios:] By 2020, the combined production of Iran and Iraq will be about level with Saudi Arabia. This will change the dynamics within OPEC and the OPEC leadership. How will it change, do you think?
[Zangeneh:] We with all difficulty that we had, it's the history of OPEC that we should cooperate with each other and to go ahead with each other. It's very, very important. We should cooperate with each other. It's an organization, it's a signal to the market that we want to be with each other.
[Defterios:] You're producing about 2.8 million barrels a day right now. Your pre-sanctions peak was around 4.2 million barrels a day. Realistically, how long will it take to get back up to 4.2, 4.3 million barrels?
[Zangeneh:] We are trying. Around end of the next year, we'll be close to distribution.
[Defterios:] By the end of 2016?
[Zangeneh:] Yes.
[Defterios:] Most people don't think you can add more than 600,000 barrels a day. I've spoken to six different sources, and they said you'll be lucky to add 600,000 barrels
[Zangeneh:] Yes. Yes, they should wait some month.
[Defterios:] You can get up to 4.2 by the end of 2016?
[Zangeneh:] I wish.
[Defterios:] The German delegation, the French delegation, Italian delegation, British delegation. Is there space for the Americans to come in? It seems like the Europeans are rushing to get to Iran to get a head start on the Americans.
[Zangeneh:] I hope US administration not to put sanctions against them to come to Iran. From the Iranian side, we have no objection, no difficulty. We are open to receive them, and they are welcome if they want to come to us. And only US companies lose in that market. Now I hope they don't lose in this new stage of the development of Iranian oil projects.
[Defterios:] You share the largest gas field in the world with Qatar. Most of that territory is actually Qatari. Will it create a problem as you ramp up your gas production? Because Qatar doesn't want to increase production. It wants to last 100 years. Is it a political problem?
[Zangeneh:] No. We have no political no dispute with Qatar. And also, Qatar has reached to the highest level of production that they can for from many years ago. And we should accelerate our activities to reach to the level that Qatar has produced before.
[Quest:] A short time ago, oil and gas exploration firm ConocoPhillips apologies announced it's cutting its global workforce by 10 percent. CNN Money's Paul La Monica is here with me. Well, yesterday up 8 percent, a 30 percent gain over the last week, and now down 7 percent. Is this just reflecting the same sort of volatility in commodities that we're seeing in equities?
[Paul La Monica, Cnn Money Digital Correspondent:] I think it is, and it's all tied to China. The concern about China's economy slowing down, that has led to the volatility in the stock market and also with oil prices.
[Quest:] But this volatility and this sort of reaction, this isn't suggesting a slowdown, this is almost suggesting a calamity in China. And we're not seeing as far as I'm aware, nobody's suggesting that China is about to go into recession.
[La Monica:] No. China the fear may be a hard landing, which is obviously not a recession. But I think right now this is just an environment where investors are selling first and asking questions later. If you take the longer-term view, we still have very strong gains going back to when the market bottomed in 2009. A lot of people may be looking at this as an opportunity to say, you know what? We've got to cash in a little bit. China is a big mountain of uncertainty right now. Until we have more evidence of whether or not it is just
[Quest:] Ah, but what sort of evidence is it going to take to get that, do you think?
[La Monica:] I think with China, the hope is that the numbers that come out for the third quarter, obviously the caveat being can we believe them? Do they show a change in this path of the numbers being worse than expected? Now, that's
[Quest:] You were telling me about the S&P and the number of stocks.
[La Monica:] Yes, there were no places to hide today. That really shows how nervous investors are. Before the market closed, there are only two or three stocks that wee actually higher today, which is just stunning. Usually on days like this, you'll find some safe havens, be it utilities, consumer staples. Everything went down today.
[Quest:] Cheerful.
[La Monica:] Very cheerful, unfortunately.
[Quest:] Good to see you, sir.
[La Monica:] Thank you.
[Quest:] There what you need, Paul La Monica. Now, after climbing in the opinion polls with his hard stance against illegal Mexican immigration, Donald Trump is holding a private meeting today with Hispanic leaders. So, what did Mr. Trump say? In a moment.