The Hindu : National : `No deal with U.S. on Iran vote'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 01, 2005

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`No deal with U.S. on Iran vote'

Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI: There was no deal around a vote by New Delhi against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency and the clinching of the July 18 civilian nuclear agreement between India and the United States, official sources said on Friday.

Asked by a correspondent to comment on a front-page report in The Hindu on Friday, which was based on a transcript of the hearing of the House International Relations Committee in Washington on September 8, official sources said any suggestion of a link between a vote by India on Iran and the nuclear deal with the U.S. ``was conjecture.''

"Who knew there would be a vote" on Iran in the IAEA before the July agreement was signed in Washington, the sources said. They took the view that there was no change in India's position on Iran after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks in New York.

The sources also said a Joint Working Group had been set up by India and the U.S. to discuss the reciprocal steps to be taken to implement the July 18 civilian nuclear agreement. India's wanted to encourage efforts for an acceptable compromise between Iran and the key Western nations on questions relating to Teheran's nuclear programme. This, they claimed, was a continuing process and India's role would be to promote these talks.

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