Tasnim � Iran�s oil exports to Asia witnessed a 27 percent rise in March compared to the same period last year.

Iran's top four Asian buyers, China, India, South Korea and Japan, imported 1.97 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, government and ship-tracking data showed, according to Reuters.

In the first quarter, these four countries imported 1.87 million bpd, a 47 percent rise from the same period in 2016.

Iran had been a major exporter of crude to the four Asian buyers, but anti-Tehran sanctions had reduced bilateral trade between Tehran and the four nations.

This changed after Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached a nuclear deal in July 2015 and started implementing it in January last year.

The comprehensive nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran.