India's Iran oil problem has only been half-solved thanks to US waiver

India needs to find a mechanism to secure oil imports from Iran

The US last week announced that while sanctions would be re-imposed by the Trump administration on the Islamic Republic of Iran for supposedly firing up its nuclear programme — and in reality because President Donald Trump wished to escape a deal signed by his predecessor — the sanctions programme would include significant waivers for at least eight countries. While these did not include the European Union, major trading partners with Iran, they did include the Asian oil importers of India, China, South Korea and Japan. For India, this will come as a significant relief and the government is to be