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What is it?
Iran has always been one of India's leading oil suppliers, behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia, with more than 27 million tonnes of oil. # 39; exports last year. The figures make India the biggest buyer of Iran after China, and as a result, a target for the United States who have declared a campaign to "isolate Iran" after the Trump administration withdrew from the multilateral nuclear agreement. For India, which has been informed with other buyers to bring oil imports to zero before the deadline of Nov. 4, its decisions on the purchase of Iranian oil at this stage do not concern not so much securing energy as securing India's position in the world. If she rejects US pressure, she risks sanctions and incurs the discontent of her friend and all-powerful defense partner. If it yields, it risks its relationship with the traditional Iranian partner, access to important trade routes via Chabahar and the North-South International Transport Corridor (INSTC), as well as its international reputation.
How was she born?
In 2012, when the Obama administration wanted to maximize the pressure on Iran to get the nuclear agreement or the overall joint action plan, it had sent a similar message to New Delhi, though more discreetly than the Trump administration. The then-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, tells in her book Hard Choices that when she visited New Delhi in May 2012, "louder we asked [India] to change course, plus they were likely to "India agreed to reduce oil imports by 15% thereafter, but baderted its autonomy. Three months later, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh even went to Tehran to participate in the Non-Alignment Summit, despite the objections of the United States. Finally, New Delhi has put in place a "rupee" mechanism, whereby half of what it owed to Tehran for oil imports would be held in a UCO bank account and made available to Iranian companies for any import from India. Modi government seeks to revitalize
Why is it important?
But 2018 is not 2012, and the stakes are higher for the government. Major divergences with Iran will exacerbate the problem with India's largest trading partner and the most dynamic defense partnership. Moreover, in an increasingly globalized world, where Indian companies compete, any US sanction will make oil refining difficult for refiners, insurers, and transportation companies, even though India wants it. continue. On the other hand, India's investment in Iranian relations has increased, making the turnaround much more difficult. Just five months ago, New Delhi rolled out the Iranian President Hbadan Rouhani's red carpet and pledged to increase its levies by 25% this year, as part of the easing of negotiations for gas fields of Farzad-B. India is also committed to investing $ 500 million to build posts at Chabahar's Shahid Beheshti port and $ 2 billion to build a railway line across Zahedan Province in Afghanistan, to bypbad Pakistan's trade restrictions. The other Iranian oil importers, China and Turkey, said they would not accept the dictates of the United States.
Over the next four months, one can expect complex negotiations between New Delhi and Tehran. Delhi and Washington. An American team is expected in Delhi this month, and while a senior State Department official has ruled out "waivers or licenses" in any country, he hoped that 39 some flexibility could be negotiated "on a case-by-case basis" agree to reduce Iran's oil consumption. Rouhani, who is touring Europe to discuss ways to keep the PAGC, warned of disastrous consequences if the US manages to cut Iranian oil exports, as it is due a question of "national security". While India's oil supply is diversified, its options in this diplomatic border game are shrinking.
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