India to be prepared for all eventualities over Iran oil – minister

Reuters: India needs to be prepared for all eventualities over its oil supplies from Iran, Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said on Wednesday, as a delegation from New Delhi visits Tehran in the face of fresh U.S. sanctions.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India needs to be prepared for all eventualities over its oil supplies from Iran, Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said on Wednesday, as a delegation from New Delhi visits Tehran in the face of fresh U.S. sanctions.

“We continue to be optimistic. Iran continues to be positive. However we have to be prepared for all eventualities,” Reddy told reporters.

New U.S. sanctions, authorised on December 31, penalise any financial institution dealing with Iran’s central bank and could make it more difficult for India to pay Iran for oil imports, which fuel around 12 percent of the needs of Asia’s third-largest economy.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee)