Zarif arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday to meet with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj. “India is one of our most important partners, economic, political and regional,” the Iranian foreign minister said ahead of the talks.

The visit comes weeks after the US suspended temporary six-month waivers that had allowed several countries, including India, to continue buying Iranian oil without facing America’s penalties. Unsurprisingly, the issue of sanctions is expected to be top of the meeting’s agenda.

India was Iran’s second most important customer after China, but it put a halt to imports after the waivers expired in early May.

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