Clinton presses India to cut Iran oil imports

NEW DELHI - The Associated Press

Clinton (L) gestures beside West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. AP photo

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged energy-starved India yesterday to reduce its Iranian oil imports to keep up pressure on the Islamic republic to come clean about its nuclear program.

In meetings in the capital, New Delhi, Clinton was expected to push for India to find alternative sources of oil on the international market. Earlier yesterday, she told a town hall meeting in the eastern city of Kolkata that there’s an adequate supply in the market for India to find other suppliers. Clinton noted India has taken some steps to reduce its imports from Iran but she says the U.S. wants to see more.

“If there weren’t an adequate supply ... we would understand, but we believe that there is adequate supply,” she said. India could face U.S. sanctions by the end of June if the Obama administration determines it has not made significant cuts in imports under a law aimed at squeezing Iran’s petroleum industry to press the country to prove its nuclear program is peaceful. India remains dependent on the imports, and Iran is its second largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia. With international sanctions making it difficult to find banks willing to handle Iranian oil payments, India and Iran reached an agreement earlier this year that would allow India to pay for about 45 percent the purchases in rupees.