Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday mocked the United States over its changing stance on Russian oil amid Washington’s war with Iran
In a social media post, Araghchi claimed that the Donald Trump administration was now “begging” India and other countries across the globe to purchase Russian crude despite earlier pressure to stop such imports.
“The US spent months on bullying India into ending oil imports from Russia. After two weeks of war with Iran, White House is now begging the world–including India–to buy Russian crude,” Araghchi wrote on X.
The Iranian foreign minister also criticised European countries for backing an “illegal war” against Iran, claiming they expected American support against Russia in return.
“Europe thought backing illegal war on Iran would win US support against Russia. Pathetic,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran has allowed two India-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers to transit through the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in the Middle East region, Reuters reported, citing four sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Reuters, citing two sources and Lloyd’s List Intelligence shipping data, further reported that a crude oil tanker carrying Saudi Arabian oil is expected to arrive in India on Saturday, after transiting the Strait of Hormuz around March 1.
What the US said about India buying Russian oil
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has described India’s continued purchases of Russian oil as “inevitable”, saying the decision to grant a temporary 30-day waiver to Indian refiners was driven by urgent supply needs amid energy disruption triggered by the West Asia conflict.
In an interview with Sky News journalist Wilfred Frost, Bessent said the US administration granted a 30-day waiver to Indian refiners who had earlier been prevented from buying Russian oil. Explaining the decision, he said the waiver was necessary because Russian oil shipments were already in transit.
“Well, I think it’s an inevitability, and that’s why we gave a 30-day waiver—because the Russian barrels are on the water and it is a quick source for the Indian refineries. The other way to think about it is those barrels were going to end up in China anyway,” Bessent added.
