The Iranian position comes on the day the tenth sitting of the Indo-Iranian joint commission opens in the Capital, led by foreign minister Jaswant Singh and his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharazzi.

Kharazzi's deputy, Mahmoud Vaezi, issued the clarification about Rushdie to journalists in Mumbai. ``What happens in India is not our business nor is he (Rushdie) our concern. When we heard about the visa, we wished to clarify with the Indian government whether it meant support to Rushdie. I know the Indian government is wise and knows what to do.''

Evidently, soon after Jaswant Singh announced in London in the beginning of this month that Rushdie would be granted a visa to come to India, the Iranian foreign office summoned India's High Commissioner to Iran, Rajan Rathore, for clarification.

JaswantSingh's announcement has once again provoked the authorities in Iran to take contrary sides on Rushdie, bringing into focus the power struggle between the hardline clerics led by Ayatollah Khamenei and the more moderate president Khatami. The former reiterated that Rushdie's ``infidel'' status could never be revoked and that he would always carry the death penalty on his head. The latter group maintains that Rushdie is ``free'' and can carry on life as a ``normal'' citizen.

The Indian High Commissioner, therefore, duly informed Teheran about New Delhi's position, that since Rushdie was an ``Indian-born'' British citizen, the government did not think it could deny him a visa on any grounds. Veazi has now confirmed that Teheran is satisfied with that explanation. For the moment it seems that the pendulum may be swinging in favour of the moderates in Iran.

The bilateral joint commission that opened today is certain to take up this and other issues, such as trade, transport and communication, petroleum,culture, consular matters and science & technology and industrial promotion.Besides, India and Iran have a number of common positions they would like to pursue, such as on Afghanistan and Central Asia. India also continues to buy about $600 million worth of petroleum from Iran. The meeting ends here tomorrow.