TEHRAN, May 10, (Shana) � Asian imports of Iranian oil in March jumped 50 percent from a year earlier as shipments into India and South Korea have climbed since international sanctions were lifted on Iran's peaceful nuclear program, reports said.

Imports by Iran's top four buyers - China, India, Japan and South Korea - came to 1.56 million bpd in March, up 50 percent from a year ago, government and tanker-tracking data showed.

India's imports last month totaled 506,000 bpd, the highest in five years, the data showed.

South Korea's imports in March experienced 95 percent raise in compare to the previous year and reached 264,000 bpd. Imports by China and Japan fell from a year ago.

In mid-January, a series of economic sanctions that had been imposed on Iran for multiple years were removed after a deal between the country and the P5+1 � the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany � was implemented.

The sanctions barred foreign investments in the Iranian oil industry and also limited a low ceiling of 1 million bpd on the country�s oil exports.

By SHANA