While keeping their options open, the United States and European Union have signaled that talks with Iran over its nuclear programme could resume, for the first time in more than a year, after Tehran dropped its pre-conditions to a dialogue.
The programme could help shrink the arsenal and the high cost of its maintenance, the report said quoting federal officials and private experts.
External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh told the international community to correct the nuclear imbalance.
Turkey's state-run Halkbank can only resume processing Indian oil payments to Iran once Western sanctions are officially lifted following an interim deal in Geneva last month, a senior Halkbank official said on Wednesday
As the United States gathers support to impose fresh sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, India on Saturday made clear its opposition to such a step, saying it would not solve the problem.
The sanctions imposed by developed countries, coupled with lack of political will have deprived India of optimal growth in the nuclear power sector, according to senior nuclear scientists.
Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric who was a surprise winner in the recent elections, took oath on Sunday as Iran's seventh president at a ceremony attended by a galaxy of world leaders, including Vice President Hamid Ansari, with which he has pledged to expand ties.
According to the report, Russia tops the table with 6,375 warheads, followed by the United States with 5,800, and the United Kingdom with 215 warheads.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urged India to do "even more" to cut its purchases of oil from sanctions-hit Iran to keep pressure on that country to o prove its nuclear programme is peaceful.
The Iranian government has promised assistance in the investigation into the attack on the Israeli diplomat in New Delhi last month. "When we told the Iranians these are the names of the people who did it, they said, 'Is that so? We will help you'," a senior government official said.
For a country whose national capital has routine blackouts in its poshest colonies, not to mention the rest of the country, the debate on the advisability of nuclear power is bizarre, says Sanjaya Baru
United States President Barack Obama has said that he would order the US military to destroy Iran's nuclear programme as a final option, if economic sanctions fail to compel Tehran to shelve its nuclear ambitions. "I don't bluff," Obama said while delivering his most explicit threat to Tehran till date, warning that "all options are on the table" and that the final option is the "military component."
Officials hint the visit could finally see a formal defence industrial road map being adopted by both nations.
Amid warning by the UN nuclear watchdog that Iran could be hiding multiple secret nuclear sites, the UN and Iranian officials have been secretly engaged in negotiating a deal to allow Tehran keep most of its nuclear programme and end sanctions in return for co-operation with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, a news report said on Tuesday.
Strategic guru K Subrahmanyam, who passed into the ages recently, discusses the history of India's nuclear weapon programme in a fascinating interview.
Image of Chirac, who made controversial remarks on Iran N-programme
Ahmed filed an application seeking details about the controversial and much talked about Indo-US nuclear deal as there were apprehensions regarding the sovereignty of the country.
Pakistan, with some help from China, will demand its share in the changing nuclear order.
"Bad actors" cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons at the cost of those trying to maintain peace and safety, United States envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said.
Missile man and former President APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday said the country is suffering from the 'fifth nation syndrome' as it is always the fourth or fifth nation to launch any mission like the space mission or nuclear programme.
They said that India and the US should put on a fast track the negotiations with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency and pave the way for signing the pact.
'North Korea could choose to go China's way by selectively opening up the economy, but Kim does not seem enthused by the idea.' 'Getting Pyongyang to give up the nuclear programme may be the best outcome Trump can hope for at the moment,' says Vikram Johri.
British scientists are secretly working on the design of a revamped nuclear warhead at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire.
Since $4-5 billion (Rs 18,670-23,340 crore) will be needed to set up each nuclear reactor, capital costs alone add up to $200-250 billion (Rs 9,33,600-11,67,000 crore). Then there are fuel costs, nuclear waste disposal, reprocessing, consultants & advisors and, of course, the financial market aspects of raising all that money.
Talks between Britain, Germany and France, which negotiated on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, and Iran collapsed in early August after Iran resumed Uranium reprocessing activities
China's official media on Tuesday went public over India's Nuclear Suppliers Group bid for the first time, saying New Delhi's membership of the elite club will not only touch a "raw nerve" in Pakistan and increase a nuclear arms race in the region but also "jeopardise" China's national interests.
An Israeli military strike can at the most delay Iranian nuclear programme by a couple of years, a top Pentagon official has said, noting that such a move would not be "prudent".
"We estimate that Pakistan now has a nuclear weapons stockpile of 130-140 warheads. This stockpile exceeds the projection made by the US Defense Intelligence Agency in 1999 that Pakistan by 2020 would have 60-80 warheads," said the report released last month.
With India still keen to join an ambitious gas pipeline project involving Iran and Pakistan, the United States has warned all countries against engaging in transactions with Tehran at a time when sensitive talks are on to consider additional sanctions on it over its nuclear issue.
'It is unacceptable that some tend to limit the access to peaceful nuclear technology to an exclusive club of technologically advanced States under the pretext of non-proliferation,' said foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi.
Lantos said the objective of his legislation is two-fold: "To prevent Iran from securing nuclear arms and the means to produce them. And to ensure that we achieve this goal in a peaceful manner."
The United States on Monday said a civil nuclear deal cannot be finalised with Pakistan till it addresses the world community's concerns about proliferation and explains its opposition to the proposed Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
Conveying his condolences to the bereaved family, Manmohan Singh said Ramanna's contribution to the development of India's nuclear capabilities and the consolidation of its nuclear programme would be remembered for a long time to come.
Diplomatic observers and foreign policy wonks were left perplexed trying to figure out what Senator John F Kerry meant when he said India had begun "to reinvigorate its own programme there", which he described as "absurd on both sides".
Putting forward its point of view in the key matter, the Congress has also denied that the 123 agreement will in any way hamper India's right to conduct nuclear tests.
'Pakistan has been successful in convincing the rest of the world that the Pakistani nuclear terrorists are meant to target only India. This is myopia at its worst,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Iran has threatened to review its economic and political relations with the countries that voted for the referral to UNSC.
