NEW DELHI: The former U.S. ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill, on Wednesday said he was optimistic about the Congress approving the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal by June although it appeared to be a "very ambitious target."

"I am optimistic that a significant majority in both Houses of the U.S. Congress will vote for it. They will support it and vote for it when the voting happens in the present form as it is being formulated," Mr. Blackwill, who is president, Barbour Griffith and Rogers International, said while addressing a CII meet here.

In his view, the timeframe would be crucial and the deal had to be got through by June though it looks like a "very ambitious target."

Mr. Blackwill said: "It is very hard to do things rapidly in the U.S. Congress. It will be a daunting task to get the agreement through before the Congress adjourns by end of June."

The Congress would re-assemble in September and then it would be pre-occupied with election of representatives and such other work and that would delay the approval for the deal indefinitely.

However, he said the Congress would have no problem in clearing the deal.The approval would come on the basis of strategic long-term relation with India, the former ambassador said.

On the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, Mr. Blackwill said India too should "think seriously about its Muslim population and the rising radical Islamic terrorism. Can India remain completely immune to its Muslim population given the kind of Islamic terrorism that is rising in the Middle East?" he asked.

Iran issue

Mr. Blackwill did not rule out the possibility of the Bush administration declaring an "American military attack" on Iran as it foresees a "gathering storm" in the Middle East.

He said it would be horrible to attack Iran but it was showing no signs of compromise on the nuclear issue. He cautioned that an attack would evoke a "volcanic response" in most of the Islamic world, have significant impact on international oil prices and could also rally the people of Iran behind the present political regime.

Acknowledging improvement in Indo-U.S. interactions during the Bush regime, he said diplomatic interaction between the two countries should be intensified and there should be more exchange of intelligence information.

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