ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: Iran has joined diplomatic efforts to defuse tension between India and Pakistan.

Tehran believes that the two countries needed to take steps for restoring each other’s confidence for resolving the standoff.

“Our diplomacy has become very active to defuse the tension. Iranian authorities will not desist from going to any length to help normalise India-Pakistan relations,” Iranian Ambassador Mashallah Shakeri told Dawn on Saturday.

He said Iran could not remain indifferent to the situation in its periphery.

The tense situation between the two countries, he noted, was a result of years of mistrust.Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi while he was on vacation in Multan.

Mr Shakeri also met Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and the two had a telephonic discussion on the issue.

Iran, however, has decided to remain neutral in the situation and is said to have indicated to Pakistan that it would remain engaged with both India and Pakistan.

Ambassador Shakeri said Iran would have to take into account India’s concerns, see Pakistan’s point of view and try to bridge the gulf between them. “Taking sides wouldn’t help.”

Speaking on Energy Minister Parviz Fattah’s two-day visit to Pakistan starting on Monday, the ambassador said he would be emphasising on his Pakistani interlocutors that Iran was ready to supply electricity as soon as Pakistan signed the power purchase agreement and made available the required transmission infrastructure.

Pakistan had last year signed an MoU for importing 1,100MW of electricity from Iran.

Both the countries are undertaking feasibility studies and experts believe that the signing of agreement between the two would be possible in six months.

The Iranian energy minister will also be reiterating Tehran’s interest in investing in Pakistan’s energy sector, particularly in hydel and thermal power generation.

An Iranian firm is already working on two power projects in Pakistan having a generation capacity of 130 MW.

Mr Shakeri said Iran produced 50,000 MW of electricity, which it would like to share with Pakistan.