NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, now directly in charge of foreign policy, will face the heat from the Left parties on the issue of Iran. The last meeting of the UPA-Left Coordination Committee ended with the assurance that the Indian position would be discussed following the return of then minister of external affairs, Mr Natwar Singh, who was not in the country at the time. Left sources said that the issue will now be raised directly with the Prime Minister and an assurance sought that the government will review its position and not support any proposal to refer the Iran issue to the UN Security Council.
CPI(M) general secretary, Mr Prakash Karat had made it clear that the Left Front expects India to vote differently when the issue of Iran comes up again before the IAEA board of governors meeting at Vienna on Nov 24. The United States is categorical that it expects India to remain on board on this issue. Sources said that there was confusion now within the government on the Iran issue and a realisation that a anti-Iran vote would not be acceptable following Mr Karat’s quiet reminder to the government that over 100 MPs in Parliament, belonging to six supporting parties, were on the streets protesting against the September vote against Iran at the Vienna IAEA meeting.
Dr Manmohan Singh has now indicated that the Indian effort is to reach a consensus and prevent the issue from being put to a vote. Russia has been in touch with the government on this as well, with Iran being urged to go back to the negotiating table. There has been forward movement on this but not enough for the IAEA members to be certain that the matter will not come up for a vote.
The Americans have kept up the pressure despite hectic back channel negotiations with Iran. If the Russian effort succeeds, New Delhi will be off the hook for the moment. If not, as the sources pointed out, it will have to choose between domestic support and US alliance. The Manmohan Singh government has been maintaining that there is no link between the civilian nuclear energy agreement with the US and the decision to vote against Iran and in support of the EU-3 resolution at Vienna in September.
The US does not share this perception with under-secretary for political affairs, Mr R. Nicholas Burns making it clear to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Nov 2 that the two aspects were closely related. In trying to win over Congressional support for the nuclear deal, Mr Burns pointed towards several benefits of which the first listed by him was — “Security Benefits.”
Under this, he explained that all the steps that India pledged on July 18 (in the agreement) strengthen the international non-proliferation regime, and all align with the efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. India’s September vote in the IAEA that found Iran in non-compliance with its nuclear obligations reflects India’s coming of age as a responsible state in the global non-proliferation mainstream, he said
Mr Burns further pointed out that both India and the US had found an increasingly positive dialogue on Iran. “We are both dedicated to the goal of an Iran that lives in harmony in its region, ends support to “terrorist groups” and does not seek nuclear weapons. We welcomed India’s vote with us at the IAEA in September to find Iran in non-compliance with its international obligations. We appreciate India’s belief that Iran should not acquire a nuclear weapons capability, and India’s continuing cooperation with the US and Europe is essential to convince Iran to return to negotiations,” he added.
Mr Burns said that he had been assured by the foreign secretary, Mr Shyam Saran, that a “credible and transparent plan” was being prepared by the Indians. He quoted Mr Saran as saying that it did not make sense for India to keep some of its civilian facilities out of its declaration for safeguard purposes.
The Left parties have launched a nationwide campaign to mobilise pressure on the government not to vote against Iran, and to reverse the earlier decision.
The Bush administration is working on the Congress to overcome objections against the civilian nuclear pact by offering India’s support on Iran as a concession.
Significantly, minister without portfolio, Mr Natwar Singh’s remarks about advising the government (if he had remained as foreign minister) to reverse its position if the resolution placed before the Vienna meeting was more severe than the last one, has found much play in newspapers in Iran and across the Arab world.
