TEHRAN - Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the U.S. decision on ending waivers for the purchase of Iranian oil is hurting India's economy, Sputnik reported.

"It [the sanctions] was an important priority for the U.S. and we went along with it. But we also expect the United States to show similar sensibility when it comes to our priorities," Shringla told Sputnik on the sidelines of an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Tuesday.

"It has been a challenge to find alternative sources of oil at the same price and quality, and it has affected the bottom line in India," he said.

India, which is the second biggest purchaser of Iranian oil after China has been looking for ways to resume imports of Iranian oil since the country was forced to stop oil imports from Iran after the six-month sanction waiver from the U.S. ended on May 2.

Last year, the U.S. brought back sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal which was struck in 2015.

They told India and other countries to cut oil imports from the Persian Gulf nation to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions. However, Washington granted a six-month waiver to India and seven other countries to buy oil from Iran. The waivers expired in May.

The world's third biggest oil consumer, meets more than 80 percent of its oil needs through imports.

EF/MA