An Indian delegation is visiting Tehran next week for five days starting Monday to discuss alternative methods of paying Iran for oil without violating new U.S. and European Union sanctions . . . these include routing payments to Iran through Russia or to pay Iran in rupees rather than dollars or euros . . . the proposal would require the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to open an account with Indian banks and would be required to use the money to purchase non-strategic items and commodities but is not allowed to invest in India or purchase shares in Indian companies . . . India receives about 12 percent of its energy needs or 370,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Iran . . . New Delhi pays Tehran about $1 billion a year via Turkey's state-run Halkbank, which has indicated that it will stop forwarding payments from Indian companies to Iran due to US and EU sanctions . . . Iran is unlikely to be happy with a rupee/rial deal, although it may be forced to accept it if Moscow is unwilling to route Indian payments to Iran . . .  Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea have all announced plans to trade with Iran using their respective currencies to avoid Iran sanctions.