By Hemang Palan

India is the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil and depends on crude oil imports to meet over 87% of the country’s fuel requirements. Moscow was the biggest crude oil supplier to India in 2023, accounting for around 35% of the country’s imports.

‘The Mehr News Agency’ owned by the Iranian government's Islamic Development Organization published a news report two months ago that India is in talks with Iran to resume crude oil imports.

The agency quoted: “India is reportedly considering the resumption of crude oil imports from Iran following the escalation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden near Yemen. The issue has been on the agenda during the recent bilateral talks when Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Iran last week. The route for Iranian oil shipments passes through the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. So far, India has refrained from purchasing crude oil from nations like Iran under international sanctions.”

As a follow-up story, the leading English newspaper of India, ‘Business Standard’ too published a news report on the Indian government’s plan to resume crude oil import from Iran. “We are always monitoring the situation when it comes to crude flows. However, there have been proposals to resume crude oil imports from Iran. We are studying them,” an official of the Indian External Affairs Ministry told ‘Business Standard’.

Iran was a major supplier of crude oil to India until 2018-19. News reports indicate that Iran is also ‘willing’ to accept the crude oil exports payment from India in INR currency.   

Also, the leading English magazine of India, ‘Business India’ last month published a quote of a senior official of the Indian Shipping Ministry indicating government of India’s diplomatic strategy to maintain cordial relationship with Iran in the on-going Red Sea crisis as Houthi rebel group is backed by Iran.

The Ministry official told ‘Business India’ that India did not join Operation Prosperity Guardian - a United States-led military operation by a multinational naval coalition formed in December 2023 to respond to Houthi-led attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Instead, the India Navy has positioned war ships in the vicinity of troubled waters to check the threat from Houthi rebels and fight the menace of maritime piracy. Such a diplomatic stand taken by the Modi government has not ruptured Indo-Iranian relationship.

Fortunately, the existing cordial relationship between India and Iran has helped and facilitated the Indian External Affairs Ministry to secure the release of MSC Aries Indian seafarers. 
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Indian seafarers are the best in the world, and they deserve the best support from the Indian government during a crisis like situation.

‘M--- hai to mumkeen hain’ !