Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 5 / Trend, A. Taghiyeva /
India has been refused the transfer of payments to Iran for oil purchase through the Turkish bank Halkbank, the Turkish newspaper Vatan said today.
According to the newspaper, starting February 6, 2013, India will stop money transfers to Iran through Halkbank because of U.S pressure.
India annually buys oil worth $ 11 billion. The cost of oil is partially paid in Indian rupees; 55 per cent of the cost is paid in dollars through Halkbank.
In early 2012, the U.S. and EU imposed new sanctions on Iran's fuel sector and the Iranian Central Bank, which were designed to reduce the sources of funding for the country's nuclear program, assuming that Iran is pursuing nuclear energy for primarily military purposes.
The bill on sanctions was passed as an amendment to the defense budget being considered by the Chamber. The sanctions are focused on the Iranian energy sector, Iranian ship owners, ship builders and banks.
The U.S, other Western countries and Israel suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful nuclear program. Tehran says that its nuclear program is aimed solely at meeting the country's electricity needs.