Iranian Envoy to New Delhi Mehdi Nabizadeh called on the Indian officials to take a swift and serious decision on the future of their energy relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Fars News Agency reported.
"Energy (oil and gas) is an important component and India should take certain decisions before it is too late," Nabizadeh said adding energy is an important component for development.
Both countries have to work together, the Iranian envoy added.
India-Iran trade ties are feeling the strain of Western influence, he said, noting this may disrupt crude imports from Iran.
Imports dropped to 18.5 million tons last fiscal year from 21m tons in the previous year.
He reiterated that there are certain ambiguities between the two countries regarding some international issues.
Expressing his satisfaction with the current level of economic cooperation between the two nations, he said, bilateral trade has reached $14.9 billion from $9 billion in the last four years. However, it declined to $13.3 billion last year, he added.
Iran halted oil supplies to India on August 1 due to continued overdue payments.
Yet, the source said, an Indian refinery is trying to clear its debts to Iran and Iran may continue selling oil to the refinery.
Since December, India and Iran have been struggling to find ways for New Delhi to pay for imports of 400,000 barrels per day, 12 percent of its oil demand, after the Reserve Bank of India halted a clearing mechanism under US pressure.
Earlier reports said that Indian refiners such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) have opened rupee accounts in the New Delhi branch of Union Bank of India, which will route euro payments to state-owned Turkiye Halk Bankasi (Halkbank) in Istanbul.
Halkbank will then transfer that money to the account of NIOC, sources involved in the process said.
MRPL and private sector refiner Essar Oil earlier this month transferred a small payment to Halkbank to test the conduit, which will be used to clear over $7 billion in outstanding dues to Iran that have accumulated.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) will make payments next once the test payments are successful.