Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) The Congress Tuesday condemned any “unilateral military action” against Iran while its estranged ally the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) urged the government to end military ties with Israel if it was “really concerned” about Tehran. “Talk of military options and pre-emptive strikes should be avoided by all parties to avoid vitiating the atmosphere for dialogue,” Congress general secretary M. Veerappa Moily told reporters here.

“There are no military solutions to the complex geo-political issues and problems that afflict the West Asian region,” he said.

The Congress, which recalled India’s “civilizational links” with Tehran, called for dialogue and discourse to resolve the problems faced in the region.

But the CPI-M said that while it welcomed the government’s call to Israel and the US not to target Iran, New Delhi should call off its military ties with Tel Aviv if it had genuine concern for Iran.

“The concern (expressed by the government) would have been credible only if the (Indian) government had not helped Israel’s military capabilities,” the party said.

It pointed out that the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) had launched an Israeli spy satellite TecSar in January this year.

“This advanced satellite produced by Israel and the US jointly is being used to conduct surveillance of Iran. If there is a military attack by Israel on Iran, the TecSar facilities will be invaluable.

“If the Manmohan Singh government is really concerned about the military attack on Iran, it should forthwith cancel the launch of two more satellites in this series. It should forthwith stop all military collaboration with Israel.”