Iran’s armtwisting begins: fix Vienna mistake or else

For the first time after the Vienna vote on its nuclear programme, Iran has issued a not-so veiled threat to India: make amends if there is ...

For the first time after the Vienna vote on its nuclear programme, Iran has issued a not-so veiled threat to India: make amends if there is a next vote of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna (scheduled for November 24) or else there will be no next meeting between the two countries on the gas deals.

This message was communicated to the Indian delegation—led by Petroleum Secretary S C Tripathi—on October 24 at a meeting of the Joint Working Group on the India-Iran-Pakistan pipeline in Tehran.

According to Tehran’s minutes of that meeting, obtained by The Sunday Express, Iran’s Deputy Petroleum Minister for International Affairs M H Nejad Hosseinian said: “Iran expects that the esteemed government of India would compensate the past default by supporting Iran in the next meeting of the IAEA board of governors in November.’’

And, in the same minutes, Tehran makes it clear that this is linked to the ongoing energy dialogue: “Both parties agreed to take all measures to hold the tripartite meeting by end December 2005.”

New Delhi hasn’t yet responded to this communication.

Exactly a month before that JWG meeting, on September 24, India had joined 21 countries, including the US, Britain, France, Germany—Venezuela was the only country that voted for Iran while Russia, China and Pakistan stayed away—in backing an IAEA resolution calling on the agency to consider reporting Iran to the UN Security Council if it does not meet its nuclear obligations.

	For all its hard talk, why Iran needs India’s oil deals

	• IOC, BPCL and GAIL have signed a $22-billion deal for LNG over next 25 yrs. Still to be approved by National Iranian Oil Company. • India also willing to buy an extra 2.5 m tons of LNG from mid-2011 • India’s purchase of 60-90 million standard cubic metres of gas per day provides the economic viability for laying the India-Iran-Pakistan pipeline. Pak’s demand: 30 MSCMD in 2011 going up to 60 MSCMD in 2014. • Exploration of Farsi Block which is with OVL, IOC

New Delhi had argued that its yes vote had come only after the EU-3 had agreed to give more time for diplomacy and to defer any decision until the next meeting on November 24.

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India’s minutes of the JWG meeting underline the “cordial relations’’ between the two nations contributing to the progress of talks on the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.

The Iranian delegation acknowledged this but not before it reminded India of Vienna again.

“Apart from the recent political turbulences which shocked not only the Iranian government but all Iranian people, good progress has been made by the special joint working group so far in regard to the project,’’ the deputy minister was quoted as telling the Indian delegation.