The U.S. might seek to levy penalties against India if Delhi doesn't significantly reduce its purchases of Iranian oil, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

A decision on penalties under a new law targeting Iranian oil sales could take place as early as June 28, Bloomberg reported.

The U.S. government "may not be aware" that state-owned Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. plans to reduce oil imports from Iran starting next month, Bloomberg reported, citing two officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said, "we abide scrupulously by U.N. authorized sanctions."

While sanctions from individual countries "have an impact on commercial interactions, from a legal perspective there is nothing that binds us to follow them," he said, Bloomberg reported.

Full story at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-15/u-s-may-sanction-india-over-level-of-iran-oil-imports.html

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