White House adviser <a title="US India Relations" href="https://www.benefitnews24.com/editorial/peter-navarro-s-anti-india-rant-exposed/18629" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Navarro</a> had a public meltdown on Sunday after one of his posts on India&rsquo;s Russian oil imports was flagged by a community note on X.
This time, he was fact-checked by X users, who clarified that India&rsquo;s oil trade was &ldquo;for energy security, not just profit&rdquo;, and stressed it did not breach sanctions.
Navarro had alleged that India&rsquo;s imports were &ldquo;purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia&rsquo;s war machine&rdquo;. But the community note pointed out that the US itself continues to import certain commodities from Russia, calling his comments &ldquo;hypocritical&rdquo;.
Dismissing the note as &ldquo;crap&rdquo;, Navarro attacked Elon Musk for &ldquo;letting propaganda into people&rsquo;s posts&rdquo; and again accused India of profiteering. He wrote: &ldquo;India buys Russia oil solely to profiteer&hellip; Stop killing Ukrainians. Stop taking American jobs.&rdquo;
The controversy coincided with President Trump&rsquo;s softer tone on India, when he said at a White House briefing: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll always be friends with Prime Minister Modi. He&rsquo;s a great Prime Minister.&rdquo; Hours later, PM Modi reciprocated, praising Trump&rsquo;s &ldquo;positive assessment&rdquo; of bilateral ties.
ALSO READ: https://www.benefitnews24.com/business/india-hits-back-at-navarro-s-russia-oil-remark/18646
India&rsquo;s Ministry of External Affairs rejected Navarro&rsquo;s remarks as &ldquo;inaccurate and misleading&rdquo;. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasised that India&ndash;US ties remain vital, rooted in &ldquo;shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people links.&rdquo;
Navarro has repeatedly criticised India&rsquo;s foreign policy, including PM Modi&rsquo;s meetings with Russian and Chinese leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
Former UK diplomat Edward Price condemned Navarro&rsquo;s tirade as &ldquo;a shame&rdquo;, arguing that India has always pursued an independent diplomatic path. &ldquo;We shouldn&rsquo;t be telling India what to do. We should be making it a fair and friendly offer,&rdquo; he said.
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[Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Benefit News editorial team and is published directly from the IANS news feed.]
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White House aide Navarro sparks outrage over India’s Russian oil trade remarks

Navarro slams India, faces backlash on Russia oil

White House aide Navarro sparks outrage over India’s Russian oil trade remarks

September 7, 2025 | 09:06 IST