Iranian Foreign Minister to meet Sushma Swaraj, likely to offer gas block

Crucial visit expected to see Iran offer easier terms for Farzad-B gas block in return for more crude imports

Iran is expected to offer the Farzad-B gas block to India when its foreign minister, Javed Zarif, meets External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Zarif may ask Swaraj not to reduce oil imports from his country, urging it to take a tough stance against the United States' refusal to give India an extension on sourcing crude from Iran.

India--the world’s third largest oil importer--had in November 2018 managed to get a six-month waiver from the United States on buying Iranian oil. The Trump administration in April 2019 refused to extend the waiver, disabling New Delhi from