JOIN USIndia on Monday discussed with Iran the implications of the impending US sanctions on its crude oil import from the Islamic Republic – a day before its parleys with officials of President Donald Trump's administration on the issue.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and his counterpart in the Iranian government, Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, met in New Delhi and discussed ways to continue crude oil import from Iran to India after imposition of the US sanctions targeting the West Asian nation's energy export.
Gokhale hosted Araghchi just a day before senior officials of the governments of India and the US would hold talks on the same issue in New Delhi itself. India earlier asked the US to grant it a waiver from the sanctions it would soon impose on Iran, particularly targeting the crude oil export from the Islamic Republic. The senior officials of India and the US would on Tuesday discuss on the terms and conditions for the proposed waiver, sources told DH.
The foreign secretary and the deputy foreign minister of Iran exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including the efforts being made by various Parties to address issues that have arisen over US withdrawal from nuke deal with Iran, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The US team is led by American Treasury Department's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea. The team also includes US State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs, Andrew Peek, and senior diplomats as well as officials of US Department of Energy. India will be represented by senior diplomats of the Ministry of External Affairs as well as officials of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Finance.