India resumes oil and gas imports from Iran after seven years

Amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East and instability in the global energy market, India has resumed energy imports from Iran after a long seven years. India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas officially confirmed the matter on Saturday. India had stopped buying oil and gas from Tehran due to US sanctions, so this decision is being seen as a major policy change.

According to Reuters, India has already imported not only crude oil, but also about 44,000 metric tons of LPG. This consignment is currently being unloaded at the Mangalore port. Notably, about 85 percent of India's total LPG demand comes from the Middle East, so the country quickly faces a crisis if there is a disruption in supply.

Recently, India faced an energy crisis due to the partial closure of this important waterway in the context of tensions over the Strait of Hormuz and the US-Israeli attack. In such a situation, trade with Iran was resumed to ensure alternative supplies.

Meanwhile, last month, the US administration—led by Donald Trump—eased some sanctions on Iran to keep global oil prices in check and temporarily allowed the sale of large quantities of crude oil held at sea. India has taken advantage of this to resume imports, which is expected to help stabilize prices in the country's domestic energy market.