Age-old ties with India will not be affected: Iran

Amid US sanctions, Iran on Monday said "small pressures" will not affect its age-old ties with India and that the current phase in the relationship will "pass".

Iran's Ambassador to India, Ali Chegeni also said the trade relationship between the two countries was on an upswing.

"Iran and India have very good relations based on centuries-old ties. These small pressures (sanctions) on the two sides (will not affect ties)... This (phase) will pass," he said at a seminar organised by the Institute of Social Sciences.

He also slammed the US for unleashing "economic terrorism" on Iran.

Economic terrorism is worse than the terrorists who killed security forces personnel in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir or in other such attacks, as an economic terrorist's act hits poor people, he said. Chegeni alleged that the US was spreading unrest in his region to sell its arms.

On Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's unscheduled visit to the G-7 summit, he praised French President Emmanuel Macron for his efforts to defuse the tensions between Tehran and Washington by finding ways of resuming dialogue.

As six-month-long exemptions from US sanctions to buy oil from Iran ended in May, India had said it will deal with the issue based on three factors - the country's energy security, commercial consideration, and economic interests.

In November, the US had granted a six-month waiver to India, China, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey, and South Korea to continue importing oil from Iran. The temporary waiver ended on May 2.