India to Pay Iran $700Mln to Discharge Country’s Oil Debt

The Indian government is to transfer $700 million to Iran as partial repayment of a debt accrued from crude oil imports, local media reported Friday, citing government sources.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – India owes Iran some $6.5 billion for oil deliveries. This sum accumulated because the economic sanctions imposed on Tehran significantly impaired its ability to access oil-derived revenues, often frozen abroad.

“The finance ministry issued [an] order on Wednesday to release $700 million to [the] National Iranian Oil Company. The order for [a] second payment could be issued next month,” a source told The Indian Express newspaper.

Earlier, sources in the Indian Oil Corporation said that the government had instructed the relevant Indian oil companies to prepare about $1.4 billion to be used toward settling their outstanding debt.

In July, Iran signed a landmark nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of international mediators, comprising Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, to guarantee the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities. This agreement has led to a gradual lifting of sanctions, including the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad.