Irony of Iran war: India gets oil from Tehran first time in 7 years

India, once forced to abandon Iranian oil under US sanctions, is once again turning to Tehran seven years after, India Today has reported.

According to the newspaper, foreign-flagged tanker carrying nearly 6 lakh barrels of Iranian crude is expected to dock at Vadinar in Gujarat’s Deendayal Port by April 4.

This would be India’s first direct shipment from Iran since May 2019, when New Delhi halted imports in compliance with tightened sanctions.

Real-time data from Kpler’s MarineTraffic shows the Eswatini-flagged crude oil tanker Ping Shun is heading towards India.

This is a significant shift in India’s energy sourcing, even as New Delhi has again shifted to discounted Russian crude that once invited US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Trump had charged that India’s heavy buying of Russian oil was directly fuelling the Ukraine war. He insisted New Delhi was helping finance Moscow’s campaign and warned that such trade was unacceptable, even as he threatened punishing tariffs on Indian exports last year.

India is turning back to Tehran even as the US-led military actions against Iran have disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Bizarrely, as the conflict escalated, the focus of the war has shifted to opening the Strait, which was open before the strait.

As of Wednesday, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has stranded at least 10 foreign tankers and 18 Indian vessels, with about half carrying energy supplies meant for India, on the western side of the waterway.