India says no US pressure, energy ties with Iran intact

India, which has voted for the IAEA resolution accusing Iran of breach of its nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) obligations, has asserted that its decision was not taken under American pressure and will have no impact on the planned tri-nation pipeline that also involves Pakistan, Indo-Asian News Service reported on Sunday.

"India has played a constructive role in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) governing board and helped safeguard Iran's legitimate interests," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said Saturday night referring to India's energy cooperation with Iran.

The 35-member board of governors of the Vienna-based IAEA Saturday voted for the EU-led resolution sponsored by Britain, France and Germany that could refer Iran to the UN Security Council if it does not comply with its nuclear safeguards agreement under the NPT.

The resolution was passed 22-1, with 12 members, including Russia and China, abstaining.

India, along with the United States and others, voted for the resolution. The issue of referral of Iran to the Security Council would be taken up at the board's next meeting in November.

Days before the vote, Tehran had threatened that it would not supply oil and gas to any country voting in the IAEA for referring its case to the Security Council.

Official sources, however, sought to allay apprehensions about India's growing energy ties with Iran and stressed that the planned pipeline was not at risk after the Vienna vote.

During Foreign Minister Natwar Singh's visit to Tehran early this month, both countries cemented their growing energy ties, with Tehran not only giving final clearance to the 22 billion US dollars liquid natural gas (LNG) deal, but also agreeing to consider India's demand for another 2.5 million tons of LNG.

Both sides also agreed to a detailed roadmap leading to the signing of a tripartite framework agreement on the 5 billion US dollars Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline.

The External Affairs Ministry has, however, denied any link between its vote in Vienna and its nuclear deal with the United States.

India and the United States signed a sweeping nuclear pact during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the United States in July that finally granted New Delhi access to full civilian nuclear energy cooperation.

But the US Congress has to approve key aspects of the deal. Recently, some American legislators have made threatening noises about the agreement being at risk unless New Delhi went along with plans to punish Iran for its nuclear activities.

Source: Xinhua