SATV, Kathmandu, Mar. 11 - For much of last year, Washington sought to starve Moscow’s war machine of cash, in part by removing one of its most loyal customers: India.

Under President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign, the White House slapped high tariffs on many of New Delhi’s exports and sanctioned two of the Kremlin’s largest oil firms.

The strategy appeared to be working. While India didn’t quit its Russian oil habit entirely, it sharply reduced its purchases in favor of supplies from the Middle East.

But last week’s joint US-Israeli offensive against Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost all Middle Eastern oil flows. Iran has also threatened to attack energy infrastructure in neighboring countries in retaliation for airstrikes that hit major energy storage sites in Tehran.

On Sunday, oil prices surpassed $100-a-barrel for the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, boosted by fears of further production disruptions and restrictions.

Left with few other options, India is now turning back to Russian oil.

In an acknowledgement of New Delhi’s predicament, the US last week granted Indian refiners a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil currently stranded at sea. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move was “to enable oil to keep flowing into the global market.”

After months of White House pressure to stop buying Russian oil, it is now being given a pass to do exactly that, the proceeds continuing to bolster the very war chest Washington spent a year trying to deplete.

Pressure on India

As Western nations banned seaborne Russian crude after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin successfully pivoted east, finding an economic lifeline in China and India. The world’s two most populous nations absorbed millions of barrels per day, at steep discounts.

Home to 1.4 billion people and the world’s fastest-growing major economy, India emerged as one of Russia’s top buyers – defending its purchases as essential for its energy security.

But after returning to the presidency just over a year ago, Trump moved to sever that link.

Last August, he announced plans to impose steep tariffs on India, accusing New Delhi of profiting from the Ukraine war by buying discounted Russian oil and reselling it at a global premium.

The White House slapped 50% tariffs on Indian goods – half of them to directly punish New Delhi for its Russian oil purchases – and later sanctioned two of Russia’s largest oil firms, in a bid to choke off the Kremlin’s key source of foreign cash.