India yet to work out payment mechanism for Iran oil imports, government official tells CNBC TV18

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has not yet worked out a payment mechanism for continued purchase of Iranian oil, a finance ministry official told CNBC TV18 news channel.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan has conveyed that New Delhi will continue to buy Iranian oil to some extent, said economic affairs secretary at the finance ministry Subhash Chandra Garg.

India has already placed order to buy 9 million barrels of Iranian oil next month despite U.S. sanctions against Tehran's oil sector coming into force from Nov. 4.

India's November loading of Iranian oil will be sharply lower than its purchases in the April-September period.

Washington's special representative for Iran Brian Hook and Assistant Secretary of State for Energy resources R. Fannon are in Delhi to discuss the U.S. foreign policy toward Iran with Indian officials.

"During this trip, Special Representative Hook will engage our allies and partners on our shared need to counter the entirety of the Iranian regime's destructive behavior in the Middle East, and in their own neighborhoods," a U.S. government statement said.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)