NEW DELHI, Oct 22: US Congressmen discussing a change in American laws to enable nuclear gate-crasher India to get Washington’s support in civilian nuclear energy projects will keenly watch New Delhi’s vote at the IAEA board meeting on Iran next month.

“We hope to avoid the vote and to have Iran get back to the negotiating table with the European interlocutors,” US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns told Dawn. “But if Iran does not do so we would press for the vote.”

In that case India would be in a quandary even though Mr Burns declined to comment on that scenario.

Informed sources said that in his talks with Indian Foreign Minister Kunwar Natwar Singh on Saturday, the issue had come up. It was raised by Mr Burns in his discussions also with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan.

In what appears to have been a key meeting with the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr Burns was told that while the BJP mostly accepted the civilian nuclear deal and the overall US approach at the IAEA, the party was bound to oppose the Indian government because of the exigencies of domestic politics, informed sources said.

On the whole, both countries inched closer to implementing their July 18 nuclear agreement, with Washington reaffirming its commitment to its implementation and New Delhi asking for ‘tying up loose ends’ before President George Bush’s visit.

Mr Burns held a second round of discussions with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran on Saturday.

“The discussions covered regional issues including South Asia, Asia Pacific, West Asia and Central Asia,” an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said.

Mr Burns said he would not want to comment on how India was planning to vote.

But the signs were clear that the pressure primarily from Indian communists to oppose the US-backed move against Iran was working. The two-day discussions, which concluded on Saturday, however, marked reassurance of a firm commitment by the US to the implementation of the July agreement without any additional conditionalities.

Mr Burns had said after the first day’s talks on Friday that something workable would be found before President Bush’s visit to India early next year.

He had also said no other issue, including Iran’s nuclear plan or the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, was linked with the India-US nuclear agreement. But the US Congress evidently thinks otherwise.