Iran, India to continue trade despite US exit nuclear deal
A senior Iranian trade official underlined that Tehran and New Delhi will keep on their trade exchanges despite the re-imposition of sanctions against the Islamic Republic by the US.
"India is trying to secure waivers from US sanctions on its oil import from Iran to ensure that the country can keep up trade with the Islamic Republic," Vice President of Iran-India Chamber of Commerce Parham Rezayee said on Sunday.
He noted that India is among Iran’s top five trading partners and would not give in easily to the US sanctions, and said, "India is seeking ways to bypass the US oil and banking sanctions against Iran."
The Indian government has come to some agreements with the US to get the waivers it needs, Rezayee said, without elaborating on the details of such accords.
"As a result, India will continue to buy oil from Iran, even after the second round of the US sanctions against Iran," he added.
Last week Reuters reported that India will buy nine million barrels of Iranian oil in November, indicating the world’s third-biggest oil importer will continue purchasing crude from the Islamic Republic despite US sanctions coming into force on November 4.
The United States plans to impose fresh sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector on November 4 after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran’s main non-oil exports to India include steel, ammonia, gas condensates, petrochemicals and paraffin. India’s main exports to Iran include agricultural products such as rice, oil seeds, cotton, tea as well as textiles, thread, and industrial machinery.
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