A constructive American approach towards Iran should ease India’s own recent political troubles on Iran. That a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a long-term threat to India’s regional security environment was never in doubt. The problems for India’s diplomacy, especially in the nuclear domain, were more immediate. They were centred on India’s response to the international efforts at compelling Iran to reverse its nuclear weapons programme.

Political lobbies in Washington and New Delhi over the last two years have consistently sought to use the Iran bogey to derail the historic Indo-US initiative. In a strange mutual reinforcement, the Indian communists joined the champions of non-proliferation in the US to make Iran one of the main obstacles to the implementation of an agreement that would allow New Delhi to regain full access to international nuclear energy markets after a gap of nearly three and a half decades.

If American opponents of the deal demanded Indian congruence with US foreign policy on Iran, the Indian comrades demanded defiance of Washington as a proof of New Delhi’s “independent foreign policy”. The UPA, however, rightly refused to accept that Iran is either the touchstone of India’s partnership with the US or the ultimate criterion of foreign policy autonomy.

The diplomatic position that India had crafted for itself on Iran was a principled one. It involved five essentials. One, India was against the further spread of nuclear weapons. Two, Iran has had the right to pursue a civilian nuclear energy programme. Three, Tehran must abide by its legal obligations under the Non-proliferation Treaty. Four, Iran must expressly sort out the doubts about its compliance with NPT raised by the nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. India’s two votes against Iran in the IAEA board of governors in September 2005 and March 2006 were in pursuit of this specific principle. Finally, the dispute between Iran and the international community must be resolved in a peaceful manner. The IAEA is the most appropriate forum for this diplomacy.

... contd.