India’s state-run refineries bought 9.8 million tons of Iranian oil in financial 2017-18 compared to 13.04 million tons a year earlier The biggest importer of Iranian oil last year was China – accounting for 24 percent of Iran’s oil exports NEW DELHI/NEW YORK: Facing the threat of US oil sanctions on Iran, India continued to rely on Iraq as its top oil supplier in the April-June quarter, followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia, the oil minister said Monday. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India bought 7.27 million metric tons of oil from Iraq, 5.67 million tons from Iran and 5.22 million tons from Saudi Arabia during the three-month period. India’s state-run refineries bought 9.8 million tons of Iranian oil in financial 2017-18 compared to 13.04 million tons a year earlier, a nearly 25 percent decline. In a statement submitted to Parliament on Monday, Pradhan didn’t say what steps India is taking in response to the US sanctions on Iran, which are to come into force on Nov. 4. FASTFACTS The US President Donald Trump in May announced that the US was leaving a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, in which sanctions on the country — including its energy sector — were eased in exchange for Tehran’s agreement to roll back its nuclear program. His administration said the oil sanctions would go back into effect after a six-month grace period that expires Nov. 4. “Indian refineries import crude oil from diverse sources including Iran, depending on technical and commercial considerations,” he said. The biggest importer of Iranian oil last year was China, accounting for 24 percent of Iran’s oil exports. India purchased 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports, according to the US Energy Department. Increasing tensions between Iran and the US helped push up oil prices on Monday. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed a suggestion by President Hassan Rouhani that Iran could block Gulf oil shipments if its exports were stopped. The Iranian leadership was responding to the threat of US sanctions after President Donald Trump in May pulled out of a multinational agreement to trade with Tehran in return for its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons. Late on Sunday night, Trump tweeted that Iran risked dire consequences “the like of which few throughout history have suffered before” if the Islamic Republic made more threats against the US. “Attention is being focused on geopolitical tensions, particularly between US and Iran,” said Gene McGillian, director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “Fundamentally, we do have a tighter picture than we had twelve months ago.” Benchmark Brent crude oil rose 42 cents a barrel to $73.49 by 2:26 p.m. GMT, after earlier strenghtening to a high of $74.50. The rise also followed news of a 24-hour strike by 40 rig workers on three oil and gas platforms in the North Sea. The dispute curbed gas flows to shore, but stored crude was expected to mitigate any oil supply disruption. Moderating supply worries were concerns about the impact on global economic growth and energy demand of the escalating trade dispute between the US and its trading partners. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s 20 biggest economies ended a meeting in Buenos Aires over the weekend calling for more dialogue to prevent trade and geopolitical tensions from hurting growth.