Iran Press/Asia: After speaking with her American counterpart Mike Pompeo on Saturday about flexibility in US sanctions on Iranian oil imports, foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said the top American diplomat was non-committal, according to a Hindustan Times report.
During the phone call, Swaraj said India should be allowed to import Iranian crude for some more time without being impacted by US secondary sanctions as the general election is underway in the country, and that the next government with a fresh mandate will take a final call on this issue.
Swaraj explained India’s political and economic conditions to Pompeo and asked for some relaxation as making immediate arrangements for 23.5 million tonnes of oil – the amount supplied by Iran every year.
Pompeo and Swaraj were initially scheduled to speak a day before the US secretary of state announced on April 22 that the Trump administration will no longer grant exemptions from sanctions to any country importing Iranian oil.
India, which imports more than 80% of the crude oil it processes, gets about 10% of its supplies from Iran on favourable terms.
Earlier on April 26, Iranian Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said that the country will use all legitimate means to confront America's unilateral oil sanctions.
Eight countries including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey have been given temporary waivers by the US when it re-imposed sanctions on Iran last year. 208/211/103
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