Burns to India: Diminish economic ties with Iran

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns has urged the Indian Government to diminish its economic relations with nuclear outlaw Iran.

Washington, Aug.7 : U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns has urged the Indian Government to "diminish" its economic relations with "nuclear outlaw" Iran.

Talking to TV channels over phone late on Monday night about the US-India civilian nuclear deal, Burns said: "We hope that India, as well as all other states -- China, Russia, France, Britain and Japan will diminish their economic relations with Iran."

Washington expected India to be "part of the international mainstream in trying to deal with one of the most difficult security problems we face internationally today," he added.

Burns described Iran as a "nuclear outlaw, and a ""recalcitrant and difficult" country as it wants to have nuclear weapons which is "not in the interest of the international community."

The United Nations Security Council has already imposed two rounds of sanctions and "we are considering third sanction resolution" against it, he said.

There was nothing in the bilateral 123 agreement between India and the US to implement the bilateral civil nuclear deal that pertains directly to Iran, rediff quoted Burns, as saying.

ANI