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.
Central Asia with Iran as a major gas supplier is the arena where the new 'great-game' is being played out and China, India and Japan are all seeking to protect their respective energy interests for the medium term -- and pipeline politics is the new instrumentality
"We need to make sure that the Iran pipleline project is economically viable. This project has a life of 40 years," Menon tol the media in Delhi. Menon confirmed that India was trying to re-negotiate the Liquefied Natural Gas project with Iran. The deal was first made in 2005, but India feels there could be renegotiation.
Iran may put the $22 billion deal to sell liquefied natural gas to India on the backburner as New Delhi refuses to re-open the contract sealed two years ago, according to an assessment by the petroleum ministry.
He denied suggestions that he sought conflict with the US, saying Iran was 'trying to find ways to love people.'
Iranian President Dr Hassan Rouhani Tuesday talked about the greater need for South-South cooperation, an issue closer to India's heart and expected to be addressed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly this Saturday.
Iranian president said that Tehran has repeatedly made it clear that its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.
He was also opposed to displacement of communities as a whole and their replacement by others and sought to differentiate between Zionism and Jews.
'...to prevent this episode from disrupting ongoing cooperation.' 'The discovery of this plot had the potential to derail much of what has been achieved in the relationship during this administration's tenure -- I don't think that fact has been sufficiently appreciated in India.'
"India has immense credibility in the whole world because it is the largest and is a true democracy and I believe India can play a very important diplomatic role in bringing both sides together to resolve the misunderstandings they have," S P Hinduja, chairman of The Hinduja Group, said. "No one should suspect India because it is the best democracy in the world," he added.
Iran on Thursday made no firm commitments of honouring the $22-billion deal to export LNG to India but said will look at "ways" for early implementation of the two-year-old contract.
"We think that the US is following another policy trying to hide its defeats and failures and that is why it is pointing its fingers to others," he said.
The Iran issue is expected to figure prominently in the discussions at the NAM summit.
With developments like the Russia-China alliance and the rise of China in the Middle East, India's role has diminished though the India-Israel-US-UAE grouping may assume some importance in the future, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Iran's win over Wales and the U.S. team's goalless stalemate against England set up a tantalising final round of Group B matches.
'The Russians think it will help them, but these actions look like desperation'
Pak's role in Kabul is not sending a good message to India, a top American lawmaker has said
'William Mustoe, the director of horticulture during British rule, named the Presidential Palace garden after the Mughals.' 'He simply kept the name because it was made on the pattern of a Mughal garden.''He simply kept the name Mughal gardens because it was made on the pattern of Mughal garden.'
The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its post facto approval to a memorandum of understanding between India and Iran on cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.
Iran's growing proximity to China may have also played a part.
Salman Rushdie has been honoured with the PEN Centenary Courage Award as the Mumbai-born writer made his first in-person public appearance since being stabbed and severely wounded in a knife attack at a literary event in New York last year.
The Nobel committee in its citation said it had awarded Santos the prize for "his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has cost the lives of at least 220 000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people".
In a late-night tweet in capital letters, he said Iran must 'never, ever threaten the United States again'.
The meeting of the foreign ministers of the P5+1 nations aimed to smoothen out major bumps in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran has ended with a positive note.
In a major diplomatic breakthrough, the foreign ministers of United States and Iran will hold talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear drive at a landmark meeting on Thursday -- the first between the two states in more than 30 years.
There is a congruence of interests between Ukrainian intelligence and its Western mentors to destroy Wagner and eliminate it from the geopolitical chessboard altogether, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Deepika Padukone is a member of the jury at the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
If military power is all it would take to finish the menace of an awful terrorist organisation like Hamas, how come five Israeli wars in Gaza since 2003 have failed to do so? asks Shekhar Gupta.
The Delhi police has asked for details of all Iranians, including Iranians settled overseas, who have come to the national capital through the FRRO.
'Of course, our thoughts are with the Iran people, the players and the whole country, but our focus is on this match.'
'This incident offers ammunition to those inside the US government and elsewhere who question the wisdom of trusting India, so it will have a lasting consequence no matter how it is managed.'
But contempt petitions against sitting prime ministers are nothing new in Pakistan.
Pro-Palestinian sympathies among fans have also spilt into stadiums as four Arab teams compete
Further deterioration of the US-Saudi relationship will have geo-economic and geopolitical effects, says Nitin Pai.
This is the third time that a Brazilian president was the chief guest at the Republic Day. The last time a Brazilian president was the chief guest was in 2004 when Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended the parade.
How a chilling 911 call from a bartender led to the arrest of Adam Purinton, the man who killed Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injured Alok Madasani and Ian Grillot.
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