The US on Monday night asked India to "diminish" its economic relations with "nuclear outlaw" Iran and join the international community in dealing with "one of the most difficult security problems" facing the world.

"We hope that India, as well as all other states -- China, Russia [Images], France [Images], Britain and Japan [Images] -- will diminish their economic relations with Iran," US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said.

Talking to TV channels over phone from Washington, he said the US expected India to be "part of the international mainstream in trying to deal with one of the most difficult security problems we face internationally today."

Burns, who was talking to the channels on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, said Iran is a "nuclear outlaw" as it wants to have nuclear weapons which is "not in the interest of the international community."

Describing Iran as a "recalcitrant and difficult" country, he said all countries are lining up to impose sanctions against that country.

The United Nations Security Council has already imposed two rounds of sanctions and "we are considering third sanction resolution" against it.

The state department official, however, noted that there was nothing in the 123 agreement between India and the US to implement the bilateral civil nuclear deal that pertains directly to Iran.