Ensuring energy security, India will continue its engagement with US, Iran

New Delhi, November 2: India on Thursday said that it was engaged with US, Iran and other stakeholders amid rising concerns over Trump administration's decision to impose sanctions on import of Iranian oil.

 

Briefing the media, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “As far as the US is concern, they are well aware about our expectations of the requirement of oil which is very critical for sustaining our domestic growth. We continue to engage with the US and other stakeholders to ensure that our energy security is not compromised.”

The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from the Gulf nation to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions. India has held several rounds of conversations with the US, Iran and and other stakeholders on the issue.

In May, the US brought back sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal which was struck in 2015. 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).

India is close to a deal with the US that will allow it to continue buying crude oil from Iran without attracting any sanction after it agreed to cut imports and escrow payments.