India stopped importing oil from Iran after US waivers expired

India has stopped importing oil from Iran after American waivers granted to eight buyers expired early this month. This was stated by Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla at a news conference in Washington.

He said, New Delhi understands that the move was a priority for the US, although it comes at a cost as India really needs to find alternative sources of energy.Mr Shringla also said, India depends heavily on West Asia for its energy needs and is against any further escalation of tension in the region.

The Indian envoy added that he was confident that US sanctions would not affect its partnership in developing Iran's Chabahar port. He said, the Chabahar port is a lifeline for Afghanistan that provides both humanitarian assistance and supplies to the war-torn country.

India has joined Greece, Italy, Taiwan and Turkey to become the latest country to comply with the US sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme. The US reimposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers.

To reduce Iran's crude oil export to zero, the US on the 2nd of this month ended the waivers that had allowed the top buyers of Iranian oil, including India, to continue their imports for six months. Iran had said, the sanctions were illegal and that it attached no value or credibility to the waivers. (AIR NEWS)

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