WASHINGTON, Aug 15: The United States is threatening to scrap its nuclear cooperation deal with India if New Delhi conducts a nuclear weapons test.

The US State Department and India have given different interpretations of the operating portion of the deal, known as the 123 agreement after a US law with the same title.

A US State Department spokesman told reporters in Washington that all cooperation would be terminated if a test took place.

“The proposed 123 agreement has provisions in it that in an event of a nuclear test by India, then all nuclear cooperation is terminated,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

There is also a “provision for return of all materials, including reprocessed material covered by the agreement,” he said.

His comments came a day after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament that the agreement would not affect India’s military programme or any plans to test nuclear weapons.

“The agreement does not in any way affect India’s right to undertake future nuclear tests, if it is necessary,” Mr Singh said.

“There is no question that we will ever compromise, in any manner, our independent foreign policy. We shall retain our strategic autonomy,” he added.