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"India privy to classified data"

"India's ambition for a permanent Security Council seat also a consideration"

WASHINGTON: The U.S. took the "unusual step" of sharing with India highly classified intelligence data on Iran's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear-capable missile to secure New Delhi's support for the IAEA resolution,an American expert has claimed.

The maturity of the deepening India-U.S. relationship is being tested by the contentious issue of Iran, and Washington was "pleased and relieved" that New Delhi finally backed it, said John E. Carbaugh, a policy analyst.

A factor that certainly played a part in securing India's support, according to the Director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, Gary Milhollin, was the "fear that Congress would not approve the landmark deal made by the Bush administration in July that allows the U.S. to share civilian nuclear technology with India."

Mr. Carbaugh claimed that India's ambition for a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council, which needs the U.S. support, was also a consideration behind New Delhi's vote.

Perhaps, the India-U.S. relationship was already mature enough not to let differences get in the way of a broader positive picture of a forward-looking, deepening alliance, he said. — PTI

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"India privy to classified data"

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