Reuters: India is trying to ensure uninterrupted supplies of crude from Iran, Indian oil minister S. Jaipal Reddy told reporters on Tuesday.
NEW DELHI, July 5 (Reuters) – India is trying to ensure uninterrupted supplies of crude from Iran, Indian oil minister S. Jaipal Reddy told reporters on Tuesday.
India owes Iran for oil imports in recent months due to the payments dispute related to U.S. moves to isolate Iran, which Washington suspects of seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge.
“There is a problem. We are sorting it out. We are optimistic about finding the solution and ensuring uninterrupted supply of oil,” Reddy said.
Iran will not cut oil supplies to India despite warning refiners it could do so if months of unpaid bills are not settled soon, the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news website SHANA said on Sunday.
The payments impasse was triggered in December when the Indian central bank ended a regional clearing mechanism under U.S. pressure. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Rajesh Kumar Singh; editing by Malini Menon)
