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‘Diminish’ ties with Iran: U.S.

New Delhi: The United States on Monday asked India to “diminish” its economic relations with Iran and join the international community in dealing with “one of the most difficult security problems” facing the world.

“We hope that India, as well as all other states — China, Russia, France, Britain and Japan — will diminish their economic relations with Iran,” U.S. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said.

Talking to TV channels over phone from Washington, he said the U.S. expected India to be “part of the international mainstream in trying to deal with one of the most difficult security problems we face internationally today.”

Mr. Burns, who was talking to the channels on the India-U.S. civil nuclear deal, said Iran was a “nuclear outlaw” as it wanted to have nuclear weapons which was “not in the interest of the international community.”

Describing Iran as a “recalcitrant and difficult” country, he said all countries were lining up to impose sanctions on that country. The United Nations Security Council had already imposed two rounds of sanctions and “we are considering third sanction resolution” against it.

Mr. Burns, however, noted that there was nothing in the 123 agreement between India and the U.S. to implement the bilateral civil nuclear deal that pertained directly to Iran.

The agreement was concluded late last month and its text was released on Friday last. India will now have to negotiate a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and approach the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for change of rules to allow the international community to have trade with it in the field.

Emphasising that the India-U.S. civil nuclear deal would be “good for the rest of the world,” Mr. Burns said Washington would be a “very good supporter” of New Delhi at the NSG. Disagreeing that China could be a stumbling block, he said the U.S. already started working with governments around the world, including China, to convince them that the agreement with India was a step forward.

India will be “judged on its own merits,” the U.S. Under Secretary of State said.

On whether India can test a nuclear weapon, he said the pact did not speak “specifically” about it. . — PTI

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