Iran Says 'India not after US waiver for Iran trade'

New US sanctions aim to prevent countries from importing Iran's oil.

An Indian cabinet minister says New Delhi will not seek a US waiver to continue trade ties with Iran, including for the import of Iranian crude oil.

"Why should we seek waiver from the US? We have done business with Iran earlier and will continue to do business," the cabinet minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

High-ranking Indian officials had announced in early January that the country was seeking a waiver to be exempted from recent US sanctions which aim to ban the import of Iran's oil.

India's Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai is expected to discuss the matter during his upcoming visit to Washington.

India's National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon also met with US Ambassador to India Peter Burleigh on January 6 to discuss the issue.

US President Barack Obama signed a new law on December 31, 2011, which seeks to impose fresh economic sanctions against Iran's Central Bank and oil sector.

The law requires foreign financial firms to make a choice between doing business with Iran's Central Bank and oil sector or with the US financial sector.

India meets about three-quarters of its crude demands through imports and Iran is its second-largest supplier after Saudi Arabia.

The country has been struggling to pay for Iranian crude due to sanctions on trade with Iran.

The US and its European allies have been accusing Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this pretext to convince the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions against the country.

Tehran insists that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.