Washington, Jul 19 (PTI) US President Donald Trump on Sunday asked Republicans to add Iran to the Russia Sanctions bill that seeks to impose punitive tariffs on top five countries, including India, buying crude from Moscow.

The Russia Sanctions Bill, piloted by Republican Senator late Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, was introduced in the US Senate last week with the support from over 60 lawmakers in the 100-member House.

The bipartisan Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia Act seeks to impose 100 per cent tariffs on the top five countries purchasing oil from Russia, but exempts European nations buying gas from such levies.

At present, the top oil purchasers from Russia are China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan.

“Republicans should add Iran to the Russian Sanctions Bill. That’s what Lindsey wanted to do, and it was going to happen,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, on Sunday.

However, the Democrats are not too keen to add Iran to the current bill, which was negotiated for over two years.

When the bill was introduced in the US Senate last week, Blumenthal said it is designed to deprive Vladimir Putin of the revenue financing the war against Ukraine by imposing mandatory sanctions on Russia’s political leadership, financial institutions, energy sector, and sanctions evasion networks.

However, on Iran, he said, “With all due respect to the president, he has approved this bill, and we should move forward with this bill rather than opening it, in my view, to other potential targets.” “If there are other bills that he (President) wants to propose... We'll consider them. But I think this bill has been negotiated over almost two years, painstakingly, sometimes painfully, at great length,” the Democratic Senator from Connecticut said.

As per the text of the bill introduced in the US Senate on July 16, tariffs would be imposed on imports from countries that are the world’s top five purchasers of Russian crude oil or natural gas or are among the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion.

The bill exempts countries whose Russian natural gas imports account for less than 15 per cent of Russia’s total natural gas exports and that are taking significant steps to reduce those imports.

The bill calls for the US Trade Representative to reassess the top five purchasers every 180 days and can adjust tariff rates based on changes in purchasing behavior.

The bill also exempts purchase of Russian uranium by the US for its nuclear reactors and medical isotopes requirements. The provisions of the bill will also not apply to activities carried out under the US-Russia cooperation in nuclear and space sectors.

Russia continues to account for a significant share of India's crude imports, while supplies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates routed through bypass infrastructure provide additional supply security, according to a Kpler analyst on July 9. West African and Latin American grades have also helped diversify refinery feedstock, he said.

India's crude oil imports rose to a record 4.93 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, driven by a sharp increase in purchases from Russia as refiners sought to bolster supplies amid disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz.

Russian crude imports climbed to about 2.7 million bpd, accounting for more than half of India's total crude imports during the month, cementing Russia's position as the country's largest oil supplier by a wide margin.

The Kpler analyst added that Iranian crude was unlikely to emerge as a meaningful source of supply for Indian refiners despite any potential disruptions.

An earlier version of the bill, introduced by Graham and Blumenthal in April last year, sought to impose 500 per cent tariffs on purchasers of oil and gas from Russia.

According to the bill's sponsors, Lindsey Graham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and secured White House approval for the revised draft before his death.

The revised bill also “adds new authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on the top five countries facilitating Russian oil sanctions evasion,” “updates the waiver to require a national interest certification consistent with other sanctions laws,” “incorporates the bipartisan SHADOW Fleet Sanctions Act targeting Russia's sanctions-evasion fleet,” and “includes the bipartisan STOP Russia-China Act targeting Chinese support for Russia's defence industrial base.” After Graham’s death on July 11, his sister Darline Graham was named as the US Senator to serve the remainder of her brother’s term. Darline introduced the bill in the Senate along with Blumenthal on July 16. PTI SKU NPK NPK