New Delhi: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reached New Delhi on Tuesday to hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The talks will most likely be centered around the impact of the US ending waivers on import of oil from Iran, and the ways to deal with it.
Zarif's visit comes 12 days after a six-month-long exemption from the US sanctions to India and seven other countries to buy oil from Iran ended.
After the exemptions expired on May 2, India said it will deal with the issue based on three factors -- the country's energy security, commercial consideration, and economic interests.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India was prepared to deal with the impact of the US decision.
In May last year, the US had brought back sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal which was struck in 2015.
The US had told India and other countries to cut oil imports from the Gulf nation to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions. However, Washington had granted a six-month waiver from sanctions to eight countries, including India.
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India, which is the second biggest purchaser of Iranian oil after China, had agreed to restrict its monthly purchase to 1.25 million tonnes or 15 million tonnes in a year (300,000 barrels per day), down from 22.6 million tonnes (452,000 barrels per day) bought in the 2017-18 financial year.
The world's third-biggest oil consumer, India meets more than 80 per cent of its oil needs through imports. Iran is its third largest supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia and meets about 10 per cent of its total needs.
