Washington, November 2: The United States has granted a waiver to India from sanctions imposed on Iran. The Donald Trump Administration has allowed India to import oil from Iran till March. The US will re-impose sanctions on Iran from November 4.  “Washington expects all oil purchases from Iran to “go to zero’’ but also said that the government will “consider waivers where appropriate,’’ reported Independent quoting US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo as saying. India in Touch with EU over Alternative Payment Mechanism for Iran Oil Imports

India is the second largest importer of oil from Iran after China. In the past also, when the US imposed sanctions on Iran before the nuclear deal was agreed in 2015, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, and Taiwan were exempted from all the sanctions. India had imported about 22 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2017-18. According to a report published in The Economic Times, India planned to raise 30 million tonnes of oil imports in 2018-19. Iran's Rial Plunges to 1,12,000 Against US Dollar, Worst Yet to Come Post Fresh Sanctions From Aug 6

But, now, as a condition of waiver, Indian oil companies will reduce import from the country. India can import 1.25 million tonnes a month till March next year. As one of the conditions of the waiver, India assured the US that Iran would not use the money paid for oil imports for any terror-related activity. In May, Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. After pulling out of the deal, the United States imposed the first set of sanctions in August.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 02, 2018 09:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).