US slaps sanctions on seven Indian companies over oil trade with Iran

Alongside finalising a trade deal with Pakistan, US President Donald Trump announced sanctions on seven Indian companies for importing oil from Iran. The sanctions appear to be part of a broader effort to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

According to US media reports, the Trump administration believes that Iran uses revenue from oil exports to undermine peace in the Middle East.

The State Department stated that it intends to impose sanctions on at least 20 companies directly or indirectly involved in the import of Iranian petroleum, petrochemicals, and related products and seven Indian companies are among those on the sanctions list for conducting trade with Iran.

Notably, just a day earlier, President Trump once again sharply criticised India, announcing a 25% tariff and additional penalties on Indian goods.

Read: Trump warns of possible tariff hike if India-US trade talks fail

In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused India of maintaining “the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers.” He claimed the country has historically imposed some of the highest tariffs in the world.

“While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country,” Trump wrote.

“They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE, ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” he added.