Iran Asks India To Resume Oil Trade, Relax Visas 

The new Iranian administration under President Masoud Pezeshkian which came to power in August last year has sought to reset ties with New Delhi, in terms of boosting bilateral trade and enhance people-to-people ties

File photo of Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Source : khamenei.ir

The new Iranian administration under President Masoud Pezeshkian is planning to give a renewed push for resumption of oil trade with India even as Tehran is seeking expansion of people-to-people ties with New Delhi by way of visa relaxation, according to a senior Iranian official. 

The official also said Iran will also be taking up the issue of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya with Yemen. Priya is facing a death sentence at the Central prison in Sanaa, Yemen for an alleged murder charge that happened in 2017. 

Iran has been under stiff economic sanctions since 2018. Under the previous Donald Trump administration, Washington has imposed as many as 1500 sanctions on Iran. 

As result, in 2019, under pressure from the US, India had stopped buying crude from Iran, which adversely impacted two-way trade. 

“We used to have good economic ties with India before the sanctions were imposed in 2018. We understand why India has to follow the sanctions but trade is falling year-on-year which is not good,” the official said, who refused to be identified 

The official also said it is a “pity” that Indian refineries, who were operating for decades on Iranian oil, had to adjust with crude sourced from other countries. 

However, the official said in pushing India to resume the oil imports, Tehran will not create “hardship” for India. According to the official, India and Iran can enhance trade in non-energy sectors, particularly in agricultural goods. 

“We need to talk to India on the visa issues. Iranians want to come to India. But they need visas. Similarly, we want more and more Indian tourists to visit Iran. As neighbouring countries as should be attractive to each other,” the official said.

The official also said India should utilise the Chabahar port to its full potential and can create a connectivity corridor from India passing through Iran and finally accessing the Central Asian and European markets. 

The official said both India and Iran are now working together to bring to reality the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) with Chabahar port as the main transport hub. 

An undersea tunnel is being envisioned by Iran that will connect the country with Qatar. The official also eluded to the fact that Iran is will soon enter a strategic partnership with Russia. 

The official also lauded China’s efforts in bringing some kind of stability of sorts in the region by bringing Tehran closer to Riyadh.