Our bilateral relationship with Iran stands on its own: India

Less than three weeks before the first wave of US sanctions against Iran kicks in, India today made it clear that its bilateral relations with Tehran stand on their own and are not influenced by its ties with any third country.

The assertion was made in Lok Sabha by Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh while replying to a question on whether India will continue its economic relations with Iran in terms of both oil imports and investment in Chabahar port in the wake of the US sanctions against the Persian Gulf country.

The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions.

The first set of US sanctions against Iran will kick in from August 6.

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil between April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of fiscal 2017-18).

"India's bilateral relations with Iran stand on their own and are not influenced by India's relations with any third country," Singh said in a written reply, adding, "Government will take all necessary measures to safeguard our national interest."