♤ Much of this potential was subdued by the international sanctions trgeted at Iran’s

nuclear programme. India voted against Iran in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011 for failing to

comply with its NPT obligations. India reduced oil imports in this period- importing21.20 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2009-10, which was reduced to 18.50 million tones in 2010-11, 18.11 million tones in 2011-12 and 13.14 million tonnes in 2012-13.

♤ Nuclear sanctions imposed against Iran were finally lifted on January 16, 2016 after it was certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had met its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached in July 2015 among six world powers.

♤ The deal has not only allowed Iran access to the billions of dollars of assets in international bank accounts that were frozen during the sanctions period, but will also possibly see thousands of barrels of Iranian crude added to its current exports of 2.9 million barrels per day (mb/d), with the possibility of 1 million barrels extra per day (mb/d) by the end of 2016.

♤ The economic situation in Iran has been improving from early 2016 after the lifting of international sanctions following the implementation of the nuclear deal by this oil exporting nation.