Trump claims India to buy Venezuelan oil over Iranian crude, says, 'We've already made the deal'

Aboard Air Force One on Sunday en route to Florida, Donald Trump told reporters he expects India to import Venezuela’s oil instead of buying crude from Iran, casting it as an already-set direction even as New Delhi’s current Iran intake remains limited by sanctions.

Speaking on the flight, Trump said, “We have already made a deal. India is coming in, and they are going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So, we have already made the concept of the deal”.

India currently imports little crude from Iran due to longstanding United States sanctions, though Tehran was previously among its top suppliers.

Trump’s remarks came after signals from the United States that New Delhi may soon be allowed to resume purchases of Venezuelan crude. U.S. leaders have also been encouraging India to consider Venezuelan oil as a replacement for Russia imports, part of Washington’s broader effort to limit funds flowing to Moscow amid its war in Ukraine.

Trump also said China could negotiate with the U.S. to buy Venezuelan oil.

He has claimed a hands-on role in Venezuela’s political setup as well, saying he has allowed the country’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, to act as interim leader as long as Washington’s demands, especially access to Venezuelan oil, are met.

Against that backdrop, Rodriguez spoke with Narendra Modi on Friday to explore ways to deepen bilateral ties in energy, trade and investment. The two sides agreed to deepen and broaden cooperation in the years ahead, pushing India-Venezuela ties to “new heights”.

The conversation marked Modi’s first engagement with Rodriguez since the U.S. carried out an overnight military operation on January 3 that led to the capture of autocratic President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

“Spoke with Acting President of Venezuela, Ms Delcy Rodriguez. We agreed to further deepen and expand our bilateral partnership in all areas, with a shared vision of taking India-Venezuela relations to new heights in the years ahead,” Modi said in a post on X.

India once imported up to hundreds of thousands of barrels of Venezuelan oil, at one stage accounting for nearly half of Caracas’s total exports. But trade dropped sharply after the United States tightened sanctions in the late 2010s, prompting Indian firms to scale back purchases to steer clear of secondary penalties.