India will not abide by US sanctions on Iran

India will not adhere to the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj indicated on Monday just hours before a meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif.

Sushma said that India would frame its foreign policy keeping in mind the national interests, and not under pressure or due to proximity with any country. She indicated that India's energy ties with Iran would not be affected by American President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic and reimpose US sanctions on it. "We abide by UN sanctions, not sanctions imposed by any individual country," the external affairs minister said while addressing a news conference.

Iran is the largest crude oil supplier to India after Saudi Arabia.

She also reiterated the same to respond to a question on the impact of US sanctions on Venezuela on India's relations with the Latin American country.

Sushma later met Zarif, who arrived in New Delhi early on Monday for a brief visit. They discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. They positively assessed the implementation of decisions taken during the visit of Iranian President Rouhani to India, including bilateral cooperation in the areas of connectivity, energy, trade and promotion of people-to-people contacts, the Ministry of External Affairs said.