NEW DELHI, 26 September 2005 — India yesterday defended its vote at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to put Iran on notice for its nuclear program, insisting that US pressure played no part in the decision and vowing to move forward on a major pipeline deal with Tehran.

In a surprise move on Saturday, India joined the US, Britain, France, Germany and other nations in backing a resolution calling on the IAEA to consider reporting Iran to the UN Security Council for not complying with the international nuclear arms control treaty.

India has traditionally close ties with Iran. New Delhi is seeking an ambitious business partnership with Tehran and has firmed up plans for a 2,800-kilometer (1,750-mile) gas pipeline from Iran via Pakistan to feed the growing energy needs of its booming economy.

However, disapproval of the project by the United States — with whom India is forging a strong post-Cold War alliance — has threatened to sour relations.

The pipeline deal has also cast a shadow over a landmark India-US pact in which the United States has agreed to share civilian nuclear technology with New Delhi, even though India is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The agreement must be approved by the US Congress, where many members have frowned on India’s emerging relationship with Iran.

India’s Foreign Ministry yesterday tried to play down the perception that pressure from Washington had influenced its decision to vote against Iran.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “India takes decisions on issue based on its own independent assessment and in consonance with the country’s national interests.”

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice publicly urged Russia, China, India and other countries to join in a “unified message” to Iran to halt its nuclear program.

Russia and China abstained from the vote.

The Indian Foreign Ministry expressed confidence the vote would not affect the pipeline project.

“We see no reason why there should be any apprehension in this regard. India has played a constructive role in the IAEA and helped safeguard Iran’s legitimate interests,” the statement said.

Despite voting to support the resolution, India expressed reservations at its wording, saying it did not find Iran noncompliant and it did not see the situation as a threat to peace.

“There is no question of India having ranged itself on one side or the other,” the statement said. “On the contrary, India has played a helpful and supportive role in safeguarding Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy necessary for its economic development, but consistent with global non-proliferation norms.”

The statement said the vote would meet New Delhi’s main objectives — give time for negotiations between the two sides, and prevent the issue from being immediately referred to the UN Security Council.

The vote came hours after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a telephone call that his country should show flexibility over its nuclear program and offer concessions.

Meanwhile, the government’s allies the Communist Party of India-Marxists (CPI-M) yesterday lashed out at the government for voting along with the US.

“This step of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government amounts to letting down a friendly country which is today under American threat and whose president had personally pleaded with the prime minister of India for support,” a CPI-M press release said here.

“Instead, Iran was advised by our prime minister to be flexible, that is to surrender to the US-EU threat, and to give concessions so as to avoid confrontation, that is to give up its nuclear energy program.

“The suspicions about Iran’s program are not as much substantial as about finding weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq,” the party said.

— With input from agencies