Indian refiners would resume imports of Iranian oil if the United States eases sanctions against Tehran, the chairman of state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp M.K. Surana said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
India, which was Iran’s top oil client after China, stopped oil imports from Tehran in mid-2019 under pressure from the United States.
“Iranian crude had been in the (import) basket of Indian refineries ... we will be happy to take that crude as and when the situation warrants and the crude is available,” M.K. Surana also said.
After its illegal withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Washington imposed "unprecedented" sanctions on Tehran vowing to bring the Iranian oil exports to zero with the aim of toppling the government. However, Iran has been able to continue its crude exports under the sanctions while they have caused problems for the importers of the Iranian crude as well. Furthermore, the US bans have helped Tehran reduce its dependence on oil revenues.
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