Trump Praises India as It Cuts Iran Oil Import
Wonder why Trump is saying nice things about India? Look at the country’s oil imports.
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that Iran’s leaders “sow chaos, death and destruction.”
Transcript of Trump’s Speech to the United Nations
But the president had nice things to say about another country. Near the end of his talk, Trump said that India, for example, is “a free society over a billion people, successfully lifting countless millions out of poverty and into the middle class.”
Less than two hours later, Bloomberg News reported that India isn’t planning to buy any crude oil from Iran in November, costing Tehran a major customer as U.S. sanctions take effect.
The president also told the assembled heads of state and diplomats that, “The United States is the world’s largest giver in the world, by far, of foreign aid. … We will examine what is working, what is not working, and whether the countries who receive our dollars and our protection also have our interests at heart.”
It wasn’t clear whether Trump’s praise of India was directly related to its cutting off Iranian oil, though U.S. officials have been pushing allies to wean themselves from Iranian crude.
To contact the reporter on this story: John McCorry in New York at jmccorry@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Marty Schenker at mschenker@bloomberg.net
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