US treasury secretary to hold talks in India as pressure builds on Iran

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
will hold talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi on Friday, Indian official
said, as part of a tour to build support against Iran over its nuclear program
and its ties to militant networks.
On Wednesday, the United States and
six Gulf countries agreed to jointly impose sanctions on 25 corporations, banks
and individuals linked to Iran’s support for militant networks including
Hezbollah, the US Treasury Department said.
Mnuchin, accompanied by Donald
Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, began a regional tour from
Oct. 25 through Saudi Arabia, Israel, United Arab Emirates, India and Qatar.
In New Delhi he will hold talks with
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, an Indian government official said.
No details were provided.
Other members of the US delegation
include under secretary for international affairs Brent McIntosh and assistant
secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes Marshall Billingslea.
India, a long-time buyer of Iranian
oil, halted purchases in May in the wake of renewed US sanctions, and its
refiners are now buying more crude from some suppliers, including Mexico, and
signed new contracts with US firms.
Sanctions were re-imposed on Tehran
by President Donald Trump after he withdrew the United States from Iran’s 2015
nuclear pact with world powers.
Aside from throttling Iran’s oil
exports, the sanctions also cut Iranian banks’ ties to the financial world.
Mnuchin and the US delegation will
travel to Mumbai, India’s financial capital, on Saturday for talks with Reserve
Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and other central bank officials, before
meeting later with Indian business leaders, a RBI official said.