The United States said on Tuesday that it still opposes a proposed natural gas pipeline that would run through Iran, India and Pakistan.

"As we stated before, the U.S. government does not support the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline," White House National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones said.

While the United States recognized the growing energy needs of India and Pakistan, "we have repeatedly expressed concerns about international participation in energy projects with Iran," Jones said.

India and Iran have been discussing the 7 billion-dollar natural gas pipeline that would go through Pakistan. Iran has one of the world's largest natural gas reserves.

India reached a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the United States during a visit by President George W. Bush last week.

Source: Xinhua