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NEW DELHI: India is not seeking a waiver from US sanctions against Iran for its oil trade, a senior Indian cabinet minister said on Thursday.
India, Iran's largest oil buyer after China, imports about 12 per cent of its oil needs, or 350,000-400,000 barrels per day, (bpd) from Iran. The shipments are worth $12 billion annually.
India has been struggling to pay for Iranian crude owing to sanctions on dealings with Iran, government officials have said previously.
“Why should we seek waiver from the US? We have done business with Iran earlier and will continue to do business,” the cabinet minister, who has knowledge of the matter, told Reuters.
New US laws authorised on December 31 impose sanctions on financial institutions dealing with Iran's central bank, the main clearing house for the country's oil payments. That is widely expected to make it even tougher for importers to pay for Iran crude.
India currently pays for Iran crude through Turkey's Halkbank, a mechanism government officials have said may be cut off by the latest US sanctions.
