India gets US waiver to continue Iran oil imports

Officials in New Delhi say the United States has agreed to grant India a waiver from Iran sanctions so that the country would be able to maintain imports of crude oil from the Islamic Republic.

The waiver would allow Indian companies to continue importing about 1.25 million tonnes of oil per month from Iran until March 2019.

“India and the US have broadly agreed on a waiver. India will cut import by a third, which is a significant cut,” a source said, as quoted by the New Delhi-based Economic Times newspaper.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing to launch the second wave of sanctions against Iran from November 4 in which a universal ban on the country’s oil exports appears to be a primary objective.

US officials have already said the sanctions would be meant to bring down Iran’s oil exports to zero. However, Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected the feasibility of this, stressing that international consumers cannot afford to lose Iranian supplies.