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No exemption from US sanctions, India stopped buying oil from Iran from May 2

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7 years ago

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The US has ruled out giving any exemption from its punitive sanctions to countries, including India, for buying oil from Iran, said media reports quoting news agency PTI.

The US on Tuesday reiterated its position at a news conference in Washington after media reports from New Delhi, quoting unnamed government officials, said that India was looking at ways to resume oil imports from Iran despite the US sanctions.

US President Donald Trump had in April refused to give waivers to countries like India from buying oil from Iran, in an attempt to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.

US said its maximum pressure campaign was working and the Donald Trump administration remains “unwavering” in its tough policy on Tehran.

Last week, India’s Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India had stopped buying oil from Iran after 2 May when the US ended its waivers that allowed the top buyers of Iranian oil, including India, to continue their imports for six months.

India has stopped importing oil from both Iran and Venezuela, he said.

As of late April, India dropped its dependency on Iranian oil from about 2.5 million tonnes a month to 1 million tonnes a month, Shringla said last week.

“We do understand that this has been a priority for the US administration, although it comes at a cost to us because we really need to find alternative sources of energy,” Shringla said.

Noting that the US did talk of trying to maintain price stability, Shringla said in the short term, there has been reduced price stability.

Iran earlier used to supply 10 percent of India’s oil needs. At the time purchase was halted, India was buying over 3 lakh barrels of oil from Iran every day.

 

Chabahar Port: While Indian oil imports from Iran have come down to zero, Tehran expects New Delhi to at least speed up work on developing the Chabahar Port, which is located in the country’s Sistan-Balochistan province, said an earlier report in ThePrint.

A flagship joint endeavour, Chabahar is believed to hold immense strategic significance for India as it will allow the country direct access to Afghanistan and central Asia, for which New Delhi has to currently depend on Pakistan.

“Our ties with India go beyond oil. We have economic ties across many sectors. The impact of US sanctions will not be felt on the Chabahar project,” Iran’s Ambassador to India Ali Chegeni told ThePrint, adding, “But it needs to speed up work there.”

The first phase of the port was inaugurated in December 2017. Apart from developing the port, the Chabahar project also entails the creation of a rail link from Chabahar to Zahedan within Iran. While a feasibility study on the rail link was completed two years back by the Indian public sector company IRCON, work is yet to begin, the envoy said.

 

The US state department said there was no change in its policy on Iranian sanctions.

“The secretary (of state) has been very clear since 22 April that we are going to zero,” Spokesperson of the State Department Morgan Ortagus told reporters during an off-camera news conference.

“We have stated that there are no new exemptions after 2 May as it relates to importing Iranian oil. The US position there remains quite firm,” she said in response to a question.

The US reimposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six other world powers.

Ortagus said the American sanctions on Iran were working. “Our sanctions are working, and I think that you’ve heard secretary Brian Hook and myself go through a litany of ways in which we know that the sanctions are quite effective for Iran,” she said.

Noting that the economic sanctions and the maximum pressure campaign will remain in place, the spokesperson said that the both Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have said they will be willing to talk to the Iranian regime.

“But until then, we remain unwavering and unflinching in our sanctions campaign and our maximum pressure campaign. That’s been our policy; that remains our policy. And it’s not just about a nuclear weapon. It’s about Iran’s support of terrorism in the region, their malign behaviour throughout the region,” she said.

The US has been pretty overt in its signalling to the Iranians, and its willingness to talk, she said.

“The maximum pressure campaign, economic sanctions remain on the table. If they would like to take a serious look at the 12 points that the Secretary laid out over a year ago, we’ll be ready to talk about that. The President and the Secretary mean that sincerely,” Ortagus said.

The United States has been talking to its European partners as well over the issue, she said.

“One of the main things that we will continue to talk to our European partners and allies is the imminent threat from Iran that is faced in the region,” she said.

After coming to power, Trump withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2018 and has imposed stringent sanctions against what he describes as the “authoritarian” Iranian regime.

The US is seeking to ramp up pressure on Iran to counter what the White House perceives to be a potential threat.

In April, the US designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a foreign terrorist organisation, the first time the designation has been applied to a government entity.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Trump rejects Iran’s 7-day peace plan, says deal can come after US polls

US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s seven-day proposal to end hostilities and indicated that a deal could come after the US midterm elections in November.

Published

8 hours ago

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September 26, 2026

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Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s latest proposal aimed at bringing an end to the ongoing conflict, while indicating that a possible agreement could come after the US midterm elections in November.

Iran had proposed a seven-day framework under which hostilities could be brought to an end, the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened and negotiations over its nuclear programme could resume.

Iran’s seven-day proposal

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had put forward the proposal through intermediaries. Under the plan, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened by the end of the seventh day if specified conditions were met, while broader nuclear discussions would restart.

The proposal was based largely on an earlier understanding reached between Washington and Tehran, but Iran sought to implement the latest framework much faster. The earlier arrangement had provided a longer period for negotiations.

The Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important waterway for global energy shipments, making its reopening a key element of any effort to ease the wider conflict.

Trump points to US midterm elections

Trump, speaking at the United Nations, showed no indication that he was ready to immediately resume negotiations on the terms proposed by Tehran.

He called for the economic isolation of Iran and said he believed a deal could be reached after the US midterm elections in November. Trump also said Iran was waiting to see how he performed in the midterm elections.

The remarks came as Iranian officials signalled that they remained open to diplomacy and described the UN General Assembly as an opportunity to revive negotiations.

Nuclear talks remain part of Iran proposal

Iran’s latest plan links the easing of hostilities with the resumption of negotiations over its nuclear programme.

The proposal follows the collapse of an earlier US-Iran arrangement. According to reporting on the latest proposal, the new framework is intended to compress the timeline for implementing commitments that had previously been discussed by the two sides.

For now, Trump’s remarks indicate that Washington is not accepting Tehran’s seven-day framework as presented, while Iran continues to put diplomacy and negotiations forward as part of its proposal.

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Iranian President Pezeshkian at UN says Iranians have been victims of US terrorism

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at the UN General Assembly that Iranians had been victims of US terrorism and insisted that Iran had acted in self-defence.

Published

3 days ago

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September 23, 2026

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States of subjecting Iranians to what he described as terrorism while addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

Pezeshkian said Iran had defended itself against attacks and rejected the characterisation of the country as a terrorist actor. His remarks came during a rare wartime appearance at the UN as tensions between Iran and the United States remain high.

Pezeshkian accuses US and Israel of attacks

Speaking at the General Assembly, Pezeshkian said Iranian civilians had been targeted by attacks and described the actions against his country as aggression.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said, according to the report.

Pezeshkian also accused the United States and Israel of attacking Iran, while maintaining that Tehran’s response was an act of self-defence.

The Iranian president displayed photographs of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolchildren who, according to his account, were killed during the early days of the conflict.

Iran’s message at the UN

Pezeshkian’s address came against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States and heightened tensions in the region.

Iranian officials had indicated ahead of the UN visit that they intended to highlight what Tehran considers attacks against its people and raise concerns over the international response to the conflict.

The Iranian delegation’s visit to New York also comes amid restrictions imposed by the United States on the delegation’s movement and other aspects of its stay, according to reporting ahead of the address.

Pezeshkian says Iran defended itself

Pezeshkian’s central message at the UN was that Iran’s military actions should be viewed as a response to attacks rather than terrorism.

His description of the conflict and the allegations against the United States and Israel represent the Iranian government’s position. They should therefore be attributed to Pezeshkian rather than presented as independently established facts.

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PM Modi’s Canada visit could help wrap trade talks, says Canada PM Mark Carney

Canadian PM Mark Carney said he is looking forward to hosting PM Narendra Modi, with both countries aiming to conclude their ongoing trade negotiations.

Published

3 days ago

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September 23, 2026

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he is looking forward to hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as India and Canada continue efforts to advance their bilateral relationship and conclude ongoing trade negotiations.

The two countries have been working towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with both sides previously setting a target to conclude the negotiations in 2026.

Carney and Modi have held discussions on strengthening economic ties between India and Canada, including trade and investment. Their engagement has gained momentum following Carney’s visit to India earlier this year.

India-Canada trade talks

India and Canada formally resumed efforts towards a broader trade agreement after a period of strained bilateral ties. The two sides have committed to advancing negotiations on a CEPA covering their economic relationship.

In June, Carney and Modi reviewed progress in bilateral economic cooperation during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France. They expressed satisfaction with the progress in CEPA negotiations and reaffirmed their shared objective of concluding the talks in 2026.

During Carney’s visit to India in March, the two leaders had also agreed to accelerate negotiations on the CEPA and work towards finalising the agreement during 2026.

Modi’s proposed Canada visit

Carney had invited PM Modi to visit Canada in 2026, and the two leaders agreed to remain engaged through diplomatic channels to work towards a mutually convenient date for the visit.

The proposed visit comes as New Delhi and Ottawa seek to build on renewed diplomatic and economic engagement, with trade negotiations remaining a key part of the relationship.

The focus on completing the trade talks comes as both countries look to expand commercial ties and establish a broader economic framework through the proposed CEPA.

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