The crises of the 21st century, 9/11, the economic meltdown, COVID-19, Russia-Iran war and the Hamas-Israel war seem to be never ending. In this situation, Iran might be contemplating a nuclear deterrent to defend itself, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the distinguished long-time Rediff contributor who turns 80 on June 17..
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed the regional developments over phone on Saturday.
The port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries.
Singh, the joint secretary heading the division for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in the ministry of external affairs, held talks with Taliban's foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday.
The government is buying out the shares of India Ports Global, which are now held in a 60-40 ratio by the JNPT and Deendayal Port Trust in Kandla.
India and Iran on Monday decided to jointly combat terror, radicalism and cyber crime as the two strategic partners signed 12 agreements including a "milestone" pact on developing the key Chabahar port for which India will provide $500 million.
The European Union, which will soon kick-off an energy dialogue with India, has said it is not opposed to a $4.16 billion pipeline project to pump gas from Iran to India through Pakistan.
'If the Iran nuke deal holds, Iran becomes a gateway to Afghanistan, and a better one than Pakistan because the route is not so mountainous. Correspondingly, I imagine Pakistan's value to the US will fall,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
India should do what we can to ensure that our two friends do not get into a confrontation that is meaningless and ultimately damaging to everyone including us.
Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation gathered for their 5th summit in Shanghai
"Iran is an important neighbouring country on the other side of Pakistan. Iran is a major source of energy. It is the only route to have access to Central Asia and Afghanistan. It is a very important Gulf nation. We cannot undermine our ties with it"
India and Pakistan will soon finalise the bilateral tariff and transit fee issues for the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project. Technical teams of both countries will meet in Islamabad during April 16-18 to firm up recommendations to be discussed by the petroleum ministers of Pakistan and India at their meeting in Islamabad on April 23.
The India-Pakistan-Iran talks in Tehran, which began on September 24, was not attended by India, who said it will not attend the tri-nation meetings unless transit fee issue is resolved with Islamabad.
India and Pakistan will seek third party certification of Iran's gas reserves before moving ahead on the $7.4-billion Iran-India-Pakistan pipeline, which is to meet the growing energy needs of both nations.
'If a 'two-front war' develops, Iron Brother may only turn out to be a drag on the PLA, since Pakistan is in no position to wage a war with India,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Stating that Pakistan can serve as a 'hub of economic activity' in the region by developing energy corridors, President Pervez Musharraf has offered to extend the proposed multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline to China.\n\n
India on Friday expressed confidence that the work on the proposed $7-billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project would start by March next year as it is hopeful of finalising a transit fee agreement with Islamabad before that. India is confident of starting the 2775 km long IPI project by end of March 2008, M S Srinivasan, secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, told reporters in Coimbatore.
Pakistan and Iran are close to finalising a gas purchase agreement for the $7.4 billion (About Rs 29,200 crore) IPI pipeline during technical talks in Islamabad, even as officials said India's decision not to take part in the talks did not mean it had pulled out of the trilateral project.
Notwithstanding US reservations over the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the World Bank has described it as a win-win deal and expressed readiness to fund the $7 billion project.
India's involvement in the port development was not strictly under the international sanctions that had been imposed on Iran.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have used a mix of charm and roguish coercion to let India know that he expected the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline proposal to become a reality in 45 days. But India is in no hurry to take a decision, a top Cabinet minister in the United Progressive Alliance government said. The volatile political environment in Iran and Pakistan has as much weightage now and the UPA government is becoming more reluctant.
Pakistan wanted to be constitutionally communal, India wanted to be secular but is communalising itself. All three nations share a penal code, but they have amended their laws to enable the State to specifically target minorities, points out Aakar Patel.
India and Pakistan today began final round of discussions to resolve differences on the 7.4-billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline before the three nations sign a deal next month.
India is one of the few countries in the region that enjoys good relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and IMEC would allow it to recreate the old Spice Route to Europe. All this is in jeopardy now, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Voicing "concern" over the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the United States has said that it was sharing its feelings with the two South Asian nations in a "constructive" manner and not in a "negative way".
In return, Pakistan will withdraw the case from the World Bank,says the South Asia Tribune.
Sunil Chhetri stirred up emotions in his final international outing but the Indian football team just could not rise to the occasion as it settled for a goalless draw against Kuwait.
Two projects in Iran, which India is to execute involving major financial commitments on its part, are of particular significance for Indian steel.
If things work out, it will be a great leap forward in the Indian-Iranian economic ties in the new phase of Iran's reintegration with the world market following the lifting of sanctions, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's demand for gas stands at 8 billion cubic feet while the current production is 4 billion cubic feet.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora would visit Pakistan early next month to sort out differences over transit fee for the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.
India went down to Iran by a solitary goal in their last group match of Asian Football Confederation qualifier in Tehran on Saturday night. Following the defeat, India finished fourth in Group B with four points.
Iran on Friday pitched for a regional solution to the Afghan problem, saying countries like India and Pakistan can help in the reconciliation process in the war-torn nation.
President George W Bush on Saturday said US has no problem with India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline but with Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
India said on Tuesday it will meet Pakistan 'soon' to resolve issues such as transit fee that have stalled a trilateral agreement on the proposed multi-billion dollar gas pipeline originating from Iran. New Delhi first excused itself for a bilateral meeting with Pakistan and then boycotted the September trilateral meeting in Tehran, saying it first wanted to resolve the issue of transit fee payable to Islamabad for wheeling the gas through that country.
