As the gathering nuclear crisis in Iran emerges at the top of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s agenda in Paris and New York this week, the government is scrambling to define a position that will fully safeguard national interests. For the record, New Delhi today slammed as ‘‘unparliamentary, discourteous and crude,’’ remarks made by ranking Democrat Tom Lantos who questioned India’s stand on Tehran. Speaking on Day One of the hearing of a House Committee on International Relations on the Indo-US nuclear pact, Lantos had quoted External Affairs Minister as saying, ‘‘India’s relations with Iran are not predicated on positions and views attributed to some governments.’’ The comment was reported by Iranian news agency IRNA on September 4, while Singh was on a visit to Teheran. India, however, denied on Friday that such statement was ever made. Whatever the flap over the Lantos remark, the fact is that India will soon be asked to make up its mind on where it stands in the unfolding confrontation between Washington and Tehran amidst the Bush Administration’s threat to put Iran in the dock at the United Nations Security Council. Given the extraordinary salience that the Iran factor has acquired in the crucial American legislative debate, Delhi is now acutely aware of its shrinking space for diplomatic manoeuvre on Tehran’s nuclear proliferation. Sitting on the fence, it is being recognised, is no longer an option. While rejecting the notion that India’s relations with Iran should frame the broader discussion on Indo-US ties, official sources say Government’s position on Iran’s nuclear proliferation is “open-ended” and eventual decisions will be based on political merit. Officials also denied a report in today’s edition of The New York Times that India has “rebuffed” American attempts at Vienna to get the International Atomic Energy Agency refer Iran’s suspected nuclear activities to the UNSC, for possible sanctions. They add the Government is yet to decide on the likely response to the “UN referral” if it does come up at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on September 19. India is represented on the Board. The government will play a “constructive role” in the debate at the IAEA and will “stay engaged” with all its partners including the US, the European Union, and the non-aligned bloc, officials say. Singh’s conversations with the French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on Monday and US President George Bush in New York later in the week are expected to shape India’s final decisions. The meetings between Rice and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh in New York and talks between Nicholas Burns, the Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran are expected to provide an opportunity for both sides to clear the air on Iran. While some of the recent Indian statements on Iran have attracted scrutiny and criticism from the US establishment, all that they have said, shorn of rhetoric, is that India will make its own diplomatic judgments. Much of the world understands the logic of nations pursuing their own interests. India is not being asked to abandon its independent foreign policy but define its interests and make trade-offs between competing objectives. Whether the Government likes it or not, India’s relationship with Iran and its approach to its nuclear policies have emerged as a touchstone in Indo-US relations. Analysts here say India has to blame itself for allowing political posturing on Iran to get the better of strategic judgment. Until now, India has treated its policies towards Iran and the US as if they were separate compartments. As Singh navigates the latest foreign policy challenge, he will have to find ways to prevent national security decision-making from being hijacked by sectional interests.
