US Pauses Russia Oil Sanctions, Easing Pressure on India

India imports more than 88% of the crude oil it uses. Energy security is central to India's foreign policy choices. Over the past decade, three oil suppliers to India faced US pressure: Venezuela, Iran and Russia. Washington used the same tool each time: a secondary sanction. A secondary sanction is a US penalty that threatens to cut off a third country's banks or firms from the dollar-based financial system if they keep trading with a sanctioned state. India faced this exact pressure in 2018. The US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in that year. The JCPOA was the 2015 deal. Under it, Iran limited its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Once the US reimposed sanctions, India's oil imports from Iran fell sharply.

A similar standoff happened over defence trade. Under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) of 2017, India's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system risked US penalties. That dispute was resolved only through a limited waiver, not a change in India's defence choices. The current dispute over Russian crude follows this same pattern. It uses a fresh law rather than CAATSA. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (SRIA Act) was passed by the US Congress. It was enacted in September. The Act authorised tariffs of up to 500% on countries that keep buying Russian oil. This directly threatens India and China as the top buyers.