Iranian minister meets Indian officials ahead of IAEA meeting on March 6

New Delhi: Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Pacific Affairs Mahdi Safari came quietly for a day to Delhi and left after meeting Indian officials in a totally unpublicised visit.

This was the first visit by a minister from Iran since the new dispensation took over, and clearly in an effort by Tehran to explain its point of view to New Delhi before the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors at Vienna on March 6.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a statement in parliament, has made it clear that the government accepts the IAEA position on Iran and that its vote for a referral to the UN Security Council was prompted by security concerns based on the possibility of having a nuclear nation in the neighbourhood.

It is unlikely that the government, despite the strong opposition from its supporting allies, will reverse its position on March 6.

Safari met a few Indian journalists and said he had briefed the Indian Government of the Iranian position on the nuclear programme and was optimistic of a "good result".

He said he had been assured by New Delhi that the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline was very much on track and there would be a trilateral meeting in one of the three capitals "very soon".

He said he had received a "guarantee of the implementation of the project" but could not say the same about the Indian response to his argument that Iran could not be denied its legitimate rights.

Regarding the present talks between Iran and Russia, Safari said his government was trying to keep the peace and stability in the region and was having talks with the Russians, the Chinese and even the Europeans.

He said Iran's foreign minister had recently visited Brussels, last week an Iranian delegation was in Russia, and this week the deputy foreign minister of China was visiting Tehran.

He said his government's efforts were directed at cooperating with the international community.