Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to visit Iran for foreign office consultations

New Delhi, September 14

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale will be on a two-day visit to Iran beginning Sunday during which he will hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Syed Abbas Araghchi on key bilateral and regional issues.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Gokhale is visiting Iran on September 15-16 for the 16th Foreign Office Consultations.

"During his visit, he will hold consultations with his counterpart Deputy Foreign Minister Araghchi," Kumar said.

He said the foreign secretary is also expected to call on Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, following the US withdrawal from it last year, and energy ties between the two countries are also expected to come up for talks between the two sides.

As six-month-long exemptions from US sanctions to buy oil from Iran ended in May, India had said it will deal with the issue based on three factors—the country's energy security, commercial consideration and economic interests.

In November, the US had granted a six-month waiver to India, China, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea to continue importing oil from Iran. The temporary waiver ended on May 2.

In May last year, the US had brought back sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal which was struck in 2015. PTI