This is in response to the article ‘5 minutes vs 5,000 years’ by Saubhik Chakrabarti (IE, August 9). Firstly, the civilisational and friendly ties between Iran and India which existed for thousands of years are neither a matter of mere romance nor can it be analysed in terms of trade of a few billion dollars. Fortunately, the officials of the two countries of Iran and India know their national and regional interests better. These ties are far stronger and cannot be weakened by concerns expressed by any third country, by editorials in The Washington Post or even by imposing unfair sanctions upon Iran. India’s attention to the geopolitical and geostrategic importance of Iran is not in contradiction of its ties with other countries of the region.

Secondly, according to the reports of the IAEA secretary general and its inspectors based on more than 2000 man-days of inspections, no evidence has come to light that the nuclear programme of Iran has deviated from its peaceful course. And, therefore, Iran does not see any reason to give up its legitimate rights of uranium enrichment and its nuclear programme which is in accordance with the NPT. The pressure which is being exerted is only based on hostile political motivations and will have no effect on the determination of the people of Iran to preserve their rights and progress.

Thirdly, this claim is totally false that Iran wants its oil and gas only for exports. At present, the domestic consumption of oil and gas in Iran is many times that of India. For the same reason, the nuclear energy which is the only solution for resolving many problems — including that of green house gases, climate change and air pollution — is a must for Iran as well as for other countries, many of which are getting a large part of their power supply from nuclear energy. It should also be mentioned that our oil exploration, extraction and refining industry also has been facing US sanctions for the past several years.

... contd.