Trump Claims India Will Buy Venezuelan Oil Instead of Iranian Crude

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said that India will buy oil from Venezuela rather than Iran, asserting that an agreement to that effect is already in place, according to Reuters.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Florida, Trump claimed, “We’ve already made that deal,” and suggested China is also welcome to negotiate a similar oil purchase agreement with the United States.

Trump’s comments come as Washington has encouraged New Delhi to resume Venezuelan crude purchases to help replace declining Russian oil imports, a strategy aimed at reducing revenue to Moscow amid its ongoing war in Ukraine. India has not imported significant amounts of oil from Iran for years due to longstanding U.S. sanctions, although Iran was once a major supplier to New Delhi.

There has been no immediate official response from the Indian government on Trump’s remarks.