West News Wire: Iran’s ambassador to India, Iraj Elahi, said on Friday, March 17, that India should resume oil imports from Iran by defying Western pressure, just as New Delhi has resisted the West to stop buying Russian oil.
India is not Taiwan. At a press conference at his embassy, the Iranian envoy claimed that while India is not South Korea, it could easily oppose the West in the same way that it has resisted buying oil from Russia.
As the United States did not renew its temporary waiver scheme for some countries to circumvent sanctions, India has not imported crude from Iran for the past four years. India was importing as much as 480,000 barrels per day a year ago before it stopped.
“We anticipate India beginning to import oil (from Iran),” said Elahi.
Tehran’s tense relations with Seoul over the frozen Iranian cash in South Korean banks and Tehran’s refusal to release a Korean tanker in 2021 were the reason for the comparison to South Korea. Iran was offended this year when South Korean president Yoon Seokyeol contrasted Iran’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates with its competition with North Korea.
The Iranian envoy claimed that Tehran understood that the majority of Indian companies purchasing oil were private companies and could not be forced to follow New Delhi’s rules regarding commercial decisions. They cannot be ordered to purchase oil from one nation over another by the Indian government.
He asserted that private Indian companies “are quite conservative” and “very concerned about the risk of buying Iranian oil,” though.
He urged “India was and is a strong and powerful country which can stand against the pressure of the west” to rejoin the Iranian oil market.
Elahi stated that India produces “everything that Iran needs” and called for the restoration of the payment system through the UCO bank.
Additionally, he said that India has not been allowed to use the Chabahar port for investment or cargo transit. And although India placed some equipment in Chabahar, it is not currently in use. in the expectation that India and Iran will soon reach a long-term agreement.
The Iranian envoy acknowledged that the country has been unable to link the port to the domestic train system. “We think the Indian administration is taking a good stance toward Iran and Chabahar. Of sure, both parties have problems.
He was optimistic that India may win from the spirit of hope in the region as the news conference was planned against the backdrop of the recent rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which was facilitated by China.
“I believe India shouldn’t need to worry about it. India will benefit from it since it would contribute to and strengthen the stability and peace in the Persian Gulf region, according to Elahi. He was responding to a query regarding India’s concerns regarding China’s participation in the deal.
In response to other question, he pointed out that India has not offered to serve as a mediator between Iran and Saudi Arabia. “At least no one approached Iran and discussed this matter with them. No Indians expressed a desire to cooperate with Saudi Arabia. We would have appreciated this if it had been communicated earlier.
India has responded cautiously to the Iran-Saudi agreement, claiming that New Delhi has always pushed for negotiation and diplomacy to settle disputes.
Iran permitted Taliban-appointed diplomats to assume control of the Afghan embassy in Tehran last month. The Iranian representative argued that the need to provide essential services, like issuing passports, for the five million Afghan nationals who had fled Afghanistan, had prompted it.
The foreign ministry in Afghanistan did not back the embassy in Iran. We pay attention to the realities,” stated Elahi.
He added that there were requirements for the takeover, but he denied that it was an acknowledgment of the Taliban government. It is forbidden to replace the flag flying atop the embassy.
Elahi claimed that because New Delhi does not experience the same challenges related to borders and migrants as Tehran does, India does not need to follow the same path with regard to interaction with the Taliban. You are not dealing with our issues.
