India, US to discuss oil imports from Iran

:A team of US officials is expected to visit India soon to hold discussions on the sanctions against Iran and its impact on the country’s oil imports, persons familiar with the development said.

At the same time, India is examining various options, such as stepping up the rupeerial arrangement for importing oil from Iran, as the US has been putting pressure on New Delhi in relation to its ties with Iran, a source said.

”In the next few weeks, we expect to have some engagements on the issue with the US. We cannot pre-judge what the US will be doing. We would have greater clarity on the issue after that,” said a source.

The source said there is ‘informal’ indication that the US might see India’s investment in the Chabahar port as a ‘carve out’ because of Afghanistan. Ports and shipping also come under US sanctions on Tehran that follow President Donald Trump’s May pullout from the Iran nuclear deal that was midwifed by the Obama administration in 2015.

The Chabahar port gives land-locked Afghanistan sea access and would reduce its dependence on Pakistan.

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil between April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of fiscal 2017-18).

NEW DELHI