Washington: US has asked all countries including India, China to stop the import of Crude Oil from Iran by November 4. Even after this date, it has threatened to impose financial sanctions against countries which have been importing oil from it and said that in this case ‘no more than’ will be used.

An American State Department official said that all countries must stop imports of crude oil from Iran by November 4. When asked to the official whether India and China were asked to stop the import of oil from Iran, then he said, ‘China and India, yes, definitely’ The official meant that this ban would apply to all other countries on India and China.

India and China are among the key importers of Iranian crude oil. In India, after Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the most crude oil is imported from Iran. In the first ten months of 2017-18 (April – January), 1.84 tons of oil came from Iran.

President Donald Trump had lifted the US from Iran in May with the nuclear deal. Its purpose was to make maximum pressure on Iran’s nuclear program. At that time, the Trump Administration gave foreign companies 90 to 180 days to close down business with Iranian companies according to their commercial activities.

The official said that the Indian and Chinese companies will have to face the restrictions imposed before 2015 for not importing oil from Iran. “We are urging all the countries to bring the import of crude oil from zero to Iran. In response to a question, the official said that these countries should reduce the oil import from Iran and stop it completely by November 4. The official said that this is part of the strategy of the Trump Administration to isolate the source of financing of Iran.

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