NEW DELHI, 20 September 2005 — India, facing US pressure to take a tougher line on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, said yesterday it did not want the issue to be reported to the UN Security Council, as sought by Washington.
“Everybody would like to avoid a confrontation,” Foreign Minister Natwar Singh told NDTV television news.
“Everybody would like to avoid a contentious debate in the Security Council,” Natwar, who visited Iran earlier this month, said in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. He said New Delhi wanted a compromise so that the issue could be sorted out within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Washington, backed by France, Germany and Britain, wants to refer Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions as it suspects Tehran is covertly building atomic weapons.
Both Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the foreign minister have held talks with US officials in recent weeks, and have discussed the Iran nuclear issue. But Foreign Minister Natwar Singh said that, despite American concerns over Iran, its policy was independent.
“Look here, India’s foreign policy is decided in New Delhi,” he said on NDTV television. “We have good relations with Iran. We have our energy requirements with Iran ... there are 150 million Muslims in India, of which a large number are Shiites.” India, worried about an energy shortage in its fast-growing economy, is looking to Shiite-dominated Iran for gas, and it plans to build a $7-8 billion pipeline from Iran to India through Pakistan.
In July, nuclear-armed India signed a sweeping nuclear pact with the United States that has been seen as a symbol of improving ties between the two large democracies. The deal would allow Washington to help New Delhi with its ambitious civilian nuclear program.
