A sharp reduction in Russian oil supplies to Indian refineries is forcing India to look for alternatives in Iran and Venezuela. This week, an Indian delegation in the US requested Washington's permission to do so, a source said, Bloomberg reports. Washington's response, however, was not reported.

New Delhi's representatives left for the US after Washington sharply raised tariffs on India as penalty for buying oil from Russia, the BBC reports.

Iran, like Venezuela, is subject to international sanctions, which forced India to stop buying Iranian oil in 2019, and India's largest private refiner, Reliance, stopped buying oil from Venezuela in 2025.