Iran in the soul

The first set of legislative hearings on the historic Indo-US nuclear pact signed in July by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W. Bush has made it abundantly clear that Iran’s nuclear proliferation has emerged as the single biggest obstacle in gaining the all important Congressional support. While the Indian government has sought to make light of the widening gap between India and Iran, and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran has sought to clarify Delhi’s position in favour of a peaceful settlement, one must be blind not to see the makings of a confrontation between US and Iran on the nuclear issue. It is also clear that the big three of Europe—Britain, France, and Germany—who have tried valiantly to avoid a nuclear confrontation between the US and Iran, have had enough of Tehran’s nuclear tease and are ready to throw in the towel.

The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna are meeting on September 19 to take a decision on referring the Iran question to the United Nations Security Council for further action. India, which sits on the board, will be called upon to make a choice, either in favour of Iran, which opposes the referral to the UNSC, or the US, which is pressing for such a move. India cannot duck the issue. Further fudging on Iran’s proliferation will severely undercut the support in the US Congress for the Bush administration’s nuclear pact with India. In defence of the nuclear pact, the Bush administration has cited two important political reasons. One that India is a responsible nuclear weapon power that is opposed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The other is that India is America’s political partner for peace and stability in Asia.

India’s unwillingness to take a stand against Iran’s proliferation and its refusal to settle the differences with the IAEA will undercut both the arguments. It is no one’s case in Delhi that India weighs its certainly important relationship with Iran higher than the resolution of Delhi’s own long-standing nuclear dispute with the US and the transformation of bilateral relations with Washington. Through its posturing for domestic audiences, the UPA government has unwittingly made Iran a test case for India’s “independent” foreign policy. India must now find ways to dismantle this self-made trap and position itself sensibly in the unfolding Iran crisis.