Time is running out, Iran tells India

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Mohammad Ali Hosseini, on his visit to New Delhi, said in an unambiguous statement that there is limited time left for India to take a decision on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.

In his statement, Hosseini said, "Expedite the decision-making process to finalise the gas deal." The spokesperson for the first time showed Iran's urgency in the matter, saying, "We don't have a lot of time".

When asked how long Iran was ready to wait for India to take a decision on the gas pipeline, the spokesperson said, "There is a hope to expedite the process by all three countries".

"China is also applying pressure and wants to join the project," he added.

When asked about Turkey's offer to allow the use of its territory to transport Central Asian gas to India, he said, "The market for gas has always been competitive. All countries try to find the shortest, most secure, and cheapest way to get energy. We offer our capacity and possibility to other countries and they decide about what is proposed to them".

When asked about China's proposal to get the gas pipeline through Pakistan, he clarified that Iran can consider joining of any other country 'later on', after the implementation of the project along with India and Pakistan.

He said that some other countries have also shown interest in joining the gas pipeline before China. He added that Iran was seriously committed to the gas deal, for which it has been in talks with India and Pakistan from the very beginning.

Hosseini insisted that the IPI pipeline deal had in now way 'collapsed' and that all three parties are still in talks, adding that dates for tripartite talks would be announced soon. He said that the IPI deal would contribute to regional stability, security and prosperity.

He repeatedly stressed the need to expedite the project since it would take a considerable amount of time to implement, once the deal is finalised.

When asked about the launch of an Israeli spy satellite by India, he said that India and Iran have old relations based on mutual respect, and not on its relations with a third country. He, however, claimed that the satellite was deployed to spy on Iran and some Arab countries.

Speaking on the situation in Pakistan, he said, "The security matter in the neighborhood is a matter of concern", but did not elaborate on the 'internal matters' of Pakistan.

When asked about his opinion on Russia's view that Iran should stop the enrichment of uranium, Hosseini said that Iran's project was for the peaceful purposes. He dismissed the Russian contention, saying Russia was probably misinformed.

He reiterated that all Iranian nuclear activities were based on the guidelines of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and added that there was no direction against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency's report on Iran's nuclear activities.

When asked if he felt Russia was acting under pressure from the United States, he said that the US has been exerting pressure not only on Russia, but on all countries, to condemn Iran's nuclear ambitions. "Russians take their position more realistically," he added.