India to Continue Buying Iranian Oil Despite Possible US Sanctions - Minister

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - Indian companies will continue buying Iranian crude oil in November even despite the possible US objections and sanctions, Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

"We have to fulfill our own domestic requirements. Some of our companies have already nominated their quota for November… We expect the global leaders will understand our requirements," Pradhan said on Monday on the sidelines of the India Energy Forum in New Delhi, as quoted by the NDTV broadcaster.

Since the United States withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in May and announced the reinstatement of all the sanctions against Iran, which had been lifted within the deal, Washington has been calling on the importers of the Iranian oil, including India, to stop buying it by November 4 — the date when the second package of the US sanctions against Iran is set to be imposed.

India, however, is unwilling to stop the Iranian oil flows as this may do harm to the Indian economy and prompt a dramatic increase in oil prices in the country.

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Iran was India's second-biggest oil exporter after Iraq between April and June, having delivered 5.67 million tonnes of oil to the country. In financial 2017-2018, India imported 9.8 million tonnes of Iranian oil.