Iran has sent a fresh warning that it may stop oil exports to India from Aug. 1 if $5 billion arrears aren't paid, as a dispute tied to international sanctions appears close to escalation.
Iran
has
sent a fresh warning that it may stop oil exports to
India
from
Aug. 1 if $5 billion arrears aren't paid, as a dispute tied to international
sanctions appears close to escalation.
"It is highly likely that if the problem with reception of the money isn't
resolved,
Iran
won't
export oil to
India
in
August," the
Fars
news agency quoted an unnamed
Iranian oil official as saying Monday.
Iran
and
India
have
been at loggerheads since December after a clearing system for the Islamic
Republic's oil sales to the Asian nation was discontinued due to international
banking sanctions.
Iran
has
continued to deliver oil to
India
--its
second largest crude buyer--pending resolution of the problem. But the Islamic
Republic hasn't been able to access $5 billion paid into a joint account.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast Tuesday echoed the oil official's
warning.
"The oil transaction should be carried in accordance with trading
conditions and absence of necessary conditions for payment will have negative
effects on the trade," the Mehr news agency quoted Mehmanparast as saying.
The remarks suggest
Iran
may
now be losing patience after having downplayed an earlier warning that it could
interrupt supply to
India
.
Sanctions have targeted investments in
Iran
's oil
and gas sector and bank transactions. But an Iranian decision to interrupt oil
supply to
India
would
be the most tangible suggestion that the measures are also hurting sales of
crude--the country's largest source of revenue.
Iran
is
the second-largest crude supplier to
India
--after
Saudi Arabia
--accounting
for about 13%-14% of the country's oil imports.
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