India pays in yuan for Iranian oil — under a US waiver

Indian refiners are settling Iranian crude purchases in Chinese yuan via the Shanghai office — under a US waiver. The world’s third-largest oil importer is now routing energy payments through China’s financial system with Washington’s tacit approval. The petrodollar was never a technical requirement; it was a geopolitical convenience. When that convenience breaks down — as it has in the Hormuz crisis — even US allies find alternatives. Every barrel settled in yuan is a vote of no confidence in the dollar’s monopoly on energy trade.