The government of Iran has called upon the government of India to maintain an independent foreign policy. This call was made in the wake of growing tensions related to the sanctions being imposed on Iran by the US and western imperialists on the one hand and the increasing strength of the strategic alliance between the US imperialists and the ruling circles of India on the other.

Visiting India on 8 – 9 November 2007, the Iranian interior minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi expressed his government’s unease with the recent upsurge in Indo – US ties and the US pressure on India to cut back its cooperation with Iran. Saying that ties between the two countries are “deep-rooted” and “very old”, Mr Mohammadi said, “We hope Indian national interests and relations in the region are not affected by external elements.” Asserting Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the minister stressed that Tehran will stand up for its rights and ensure that American sanctions are defeated. He also said that Mr Manmohan Singh had assured him that India too does not approve of American unilateralism. “We have received assurances from many countries that they do not approve of American unilateralism. The same assurance has been conveyed to us by India,” he said.

The Iran – Pakistan – India (IPI) gas pipeline issue figured in discussions between Mr Mohammadi and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and the prime minister. “We have a target of 2013 to build the pipeline and we are doing our best to achieve that,” he said, and added, “Both sides agreed that technical problems have to be resolved as soon as possible.” Mr Mohammadi further asserted that India and Iran had the requisite technology to implement the project with no need of external help. It may be noted that the US has consistently been putting pressure on India in various ways to come out of the IPI gas pipeline project and also support its stance of putting economic sanctions on Iran and isolate that country.

Iranian

The US has sought cooperation from India in isolating and containing Iran for pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapon programme and is not favourably disposed towards the IPI pipeline project.