REUTERS - India’s oil imports from Iran surged to about 705,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, their highest level since October 2016, according to data from shipping and industry sources, despite the threats of fresh U.S. sanctions.

PLATTS - China and Iran have agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to China, possibly paving the way for steady crude flows between the two countries.

REUTERS - Eni has no material exposure to Iran and so will not be affected by sanctions announced by the U.S. administration, a spokesman for the Italian oil major said

PLATTS - "Japanese companies don't want to stop imports suddenly," he said, adding the US position needed clarifying. "The situation in the US government is drastically changing every day."

SHANA - The country exported 2.4 mbd of crude oil and 300,000 b/d of gas condensate, ultra light crude oil, during May.

SHANA - The Iranian Minister of Petroleum further stressed that should the sanctions lead to any reduction in the oil market share of the I.R. Iran, Tehran, once the illegal limitations were resolved, reserves the right to return to its oil market share in the shortest possible time and resume its normal production-level and that it would not accept any limitations in that regard.

PLATTS - Japan is keen to back oil investments in the Caspian states of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan as it tries to reduce its reliance on Middle Eastern countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE and to a lesser extent Iran, Japanese officials said

BLOOMBERG - India, a long-time buyer of oil from both Iran and Venezuela, only complies with United Nations-mandated sanctions and not those imposed by one country on another, said foreign minister Sushma Swaraj at a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.

WNN - "We met today to confirm the continuing commitment of the European Commission and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran towards the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and in particular its Annex III which addresses civil nuclear cooperation," Cañete and Ali Akhbar Salehi, president of the AEOI, said in a joint statement on 19 May. "We believe that the continuing implementation of the JCPOA, which was unanimously endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, is crucial for the development and progress of the region as well as the global peace and security."

NYT - China and India are the biggest buyers of Iranian crude, but they also provide markets for 40 percent of Venezuelan exports, which have been plummeting under the weight of mismanagement, debt and American financial sanctions.