TEHRAN, May 29: Iran said on Tuesday it hopes to sign a final deal next month for a $7 billion pipeline that would transfer natural gas to India through Pakistan, Iranian media reported. The three countries agreed over the price formula for the pipeline in January and a new round of negotiations started in Tehran on Sunday.

“We hope that in this meeting we would be able to prepare the ground to... finalise the deal on June 30,” senior Iranian energy official Hojatollah Ghanimifard was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

He did not say which issues remained to be settled.

The pipeline, known as the “peace pipeline”, aims to feed the growing energy needs of the subcontinent but has made slow progress due to political tensions between India and Pakistan and differences between New Delhi and Tehran over the latter's controversial nuclear programme.

Washington accuses Tehran of using its nuclear programme as a cover to build atomic weapons and has repeatedly sought to discourage India from the project. Iran denies the charges.—Reuters