NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries said on Friday it remained a buyer of Iranian crude.

It was reacting to comments by a company official earlier this week that Reliance had stopped oil links with the Islamic Republic.
Reliance, which owns the world’s largest oil refining complex, said it considered technical suitability and relative commercial competitiveness of various grades while sourcing crude.
“Reliance continues to import crude oil from Iran,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement.
“Supplies from Iran will continue to be part of such crude sourcing strategy of Reliance Industries.”
Reliance’s senior vice-president Maurice Bannayan told Reuters on Wednesday his firm had stopped buying crude oil from Iran and was looking for cheap oil from Venezuela and other countries.
Last December, Reliance commissioned its new 580,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, next to its 660,00 bpd plant at Jamnagar in western Gujarat state.
An oil trader in India said Reliance had been buying Iranian crude oil lately and expected the company would remain a customer given its rising need for crude.
“Reliance last month imported at least three cargoes of Iranian crude,” said an India-based trader. “Both need each other.”
“Reliance is scouting for crude around the globe for its increased appetite. Moreover, Iran also needs a stable outlet like Reliance.”
Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil exporter, exports the bulk of its crude to Asia and Europe and has to import about 40 percent of its gasoline needs due to a lack of refining capacity.
The United States and its allies are eyeing tougher sanctions to target Iran’s gasoline and diesel imports.
The Reliance statement made no mention of gasoline sales to Iran. Bannayan said on Wednesday Reliance no longer sells the motor fuel to the country.