India Says Hard to Replace Iranian Oil Imports

India’s ambassador to the US stated that Washington sanctions on Tehran are hurting his country which is finding it hard to replace Iranian oil imports.

“It has been a challenge to find alternative sources of oil at the same price and quality, and it has affected the bottom line in India,” Harsh Vardhan Shringla told Sputnik news agency on Tuesday.

Shringla said New Delhi hopes Washington will show flexibility on waivers which allowed eight countries to continue oil imports from Iran, before the administration of US President Donald Trump halted them.

“It was an important priority for the US and we went along with it. But we also expect the United States to show similar sensibility when it comes to our priorities,” Shringla added.

Before the sanctions, India was Iran’s second biggest oil buyer after China, sourcing about 10% of its supplies from the Islamic Republic. New Delhi stopped oil imports from Iran after the US had decided not to extend its sanctions waivers to eight importers of Iranian crude after the exemptions expired at the beginning of May.

The United States has recently imposed sanctions against a Chinese company that is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil in the world, amid an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing and US threats against Tehran. But, according to a report, China and other countries are receiving oil shipments from a larger number of Iranian tankers than was previously known.

Since the US pulled out of the nuclear deal in May, 2018, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), tensions have mounted between Washington and China, Russia, and even traditional European allies, as the US sought to pressure them into complying with the re-imposition of sanctions.