The Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar has said that India will take necessary steps to offset any adverse impact on its interests due to withdrawal of the United States from a multinational nuclear agreement with Iran. Talking about whether the US sanctions would hit the Chabahar port project, he said that it was too early to analyse and come up with conclusions about implications of the US decision on India.
Kumar has stated that there have been apprehensions that the US decision may adversely impact New Delhi's oil import from the Persian Gulf nation as well as Chabahar port project. He noted that Iran is India’s third-largest crude oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia. He also said that countries having financial dealings with Iran are expected to be hit by the comprehensive sanctions regime announced by the Trump administration after withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Further, MEA spokesperson has said that India has called on all parties to engage constructively to resolve all contentious issues. He also mentioned that India and Iran have robust economic and commercial ties covering many sectors though it has traditionally been dominated by the import of Iranian crude oil by India. According to the MEA, India and Iran had a bilateral trade of $12.89 billion during the fiscal year 2016-17. India imported $10.5 billion worth of goods, mainly crude oil, and exported commodities worth $2.4 billion.