Government has not told refiners to halt Iranian oil imports: source

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's government has not told the country's oil refiners to halt their imports of Iranian crude, a government source said on Wednesday, even as most Indian refiners have cut down their imports ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

"We have good relations with Iran and the U.S. and our decision is not hinged on energy," said the government source.

India has close diplomatic ties with Iran and is also building the strategic Chabahar port in the Middle Eastern country. It is expected to be operational by 2019.

However, at the same time, India is closely working with U.S. to further its strategic interests and recently signed a military communications agreement with the United States.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)