Iran not interested to sign gas pipeline deal with India?
MIL/Agencies/BS, Sep 27, 2007.
Tehran, September 27, 2007 - Iran does not seem to be happy over India on Indo-US Nuclear Deal, even though India has shown every possible leniency towards Iran and earned the displeasure of the USA on this score. To throw its anger openly against India, Iran has warned India that it would sign a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline deal with Pakistan. However, diplomatically, it said it wants New Delhi to act swiftly on terms on transit pricing with Pakistan. Iran has just put a clause with warning to hurry up since Iran knows that it is not possible for New Delhi and Islamabad to come to an agreement on the payment of transit fee among other clauses. (IR Summary).
The agency report says that Iranian and Pakistani officials are holding a new round of talks this week over finalising the long-delayed pipeline, which would see Iranian gas sent to Pakistan and to India via Pakistan. But Indian officials have been absent from the talks, as per Business Standard.
"We prefer it to be a tripartite deal, but if it does not happen we will sign it with the Pakistanis," caretaker Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari sais. But he repeated that the door is not totally closed for the Indian side. "We are still emphasising that we want it to be tripartite deal. The door is still open for the Indians," he added
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