US exempts India from Iran sanction.

The US on Monday said that India and six other countries had significantly reduced their crude oil imports from Iran therefore their financial institutions will not be subject to sanctions.

"Today I have made the determination that seven economies-India, Malaysia, Republic of
Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan--have all significantly reduced their volume of crude oil purchases from Iran," said secretary of state Hillary Clinton in a statement.

This announcement ends months of speculation and anxiety for India starting with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in December 2011.

India's initial reluctance to go along with US sanctions saying it was under no obligation to abide by unilateral sanctions had created tensions in the relationship.

Coming just a day ahead of the India-US strategic dialogue here, the announcement will allow the two countries to get on with other items on the agenda.

Technically, India is in the clear for now, as under the Act the administration has to review the situation after 180 days and then do a fresh announcement.

Indian government told parliament that it would be reducing its crude imports from Iran by 11% by the end of fiscal 2012-13 and that seems to have done the trick for India.

"I will report to the Congress that sanctions pursuant to Section 1245(d)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 will not apply to their (India and the six countries announced on monday) financial institutions for a potentially renewable period of 180 days," Clinton said in the statement.

Source : hindustantimes.com