India not to seek waiver from US sanctions on Iran: Mathai

New Delhi: India will not seek a waiver from the US against its fresh round of sanctions against Iran even as a multi-disciplinary delegation is visiting Tehran to discuss financial and other aspects to ensure continued supply of oil from that country. Under the new American sanctions, made on 31 December, financial institutions dealing with Iran’s central bank will be penalised, which may result in more difficulty for India to pay Iran for oil imports. However, the US allows waivers for those buyers from countries that significantly reduce dealings with Iran.[caption id=“attachment_185720” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Foreign Secretary, Ranjan Mathai. Image courtesy PIB”]  [/caption] “We have accepted sanctions which are made by the United Nations. Other sanctions do not apply to individual countries. We don’t accept that position and we continue to buy oil from Iran,” foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters when asked if India would seek waiver from the US against the sanctions. He also cited examples of other European countries such as Greece which continues to import oil from Iran. In a bid to ensure uninterrupted supply of oil from Iran, a multi-disciplinary team is currently visiting Tehran to discuss financial transaction issues that may arise out of recent sanctions. “A delegation is on its way to work out the mechanism for continued purchase of oil from Iran and to work out the financing mechanism,” Mathai said. India currently pays Iran about $1 billion every month through Turkey for the 370,000 barrels per day of crude oil it buys from the world’s fourth-largest oil producer. PTI