India, Iran exploring ways of working around US sanctions: Iran deputy foreign minister
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
India has agreed to allow Iran's Pasargad Bank to open a branch in Mumbai. Payments for Iranian oil will be made here after the first instalment of US sanctions kick in first on August 6 and the remainder on November 4
India and Iran are exploring ways of working around US sanctions by making oil payments in the rupee and the euro, indicating some sort of trilateral cooperation between India, Iran and the European Union.
India has agreed to allow Iran's Pasargad Bank to open a branch in Mumbai. Payments for Iranian oil will be made here after the first instalment of US sanctions kick in first on August 6 and the remainder on November 4.
In an exclusive interview, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told WION that Tehran wants to be "a reliable supplier of oil to india".
The US recently told India to "rethink" its ties with Iran. But India has close and historical ties with Iran, and it gets a large portion of its oil from the West Asian country.
The foreign ministers of India and Iran meanwhile will meet in Tehran in November.
WION's Ramesh Ramachandran asked Aragchi how the India-Iran talks on oil India went.
Aragchi replied that Iran and India have had "good cooperation" earlier too. That previous sanctions did not put a stop to Iran-India ties and that Iran's policy is to be a reliable supplier of oil.
Aragchi added that there were "different ideas under consideration" when it came to payments in rupees and Iranian rials. The Iranian deputy foreign minister said there was an "exchange of creative ideas" and that "we will update, adjust existing mechanisms".
Aragchi was also asked how the Chabahar port project — in which India is investing, in return for which Iran had offered India oil at lower prices — was coming along?
Chabahar is an example of "strategic cooperation", replied Aragchi, adding that "we are quite satisfied".