New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) With the London conference clearing a contentious proposal for reconciliation with the Taliban, India and Iran have decided to expand their cooperation in stabilising Afghanistan and to combat cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
The volatile situation in Afghanistan and the regional situation figured prominently in discussions between Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Iranian leaders during the two-day annual diplomatic consultations in Tehran that ended Wednesday.

Rao “also exchanged views with the Iranian side on the regional situation, including on Afghanistan, the menace of cross-border terrorism and other matters of regional and global relevance”, the external affairs ministry said here after Rao returned home from Tehran Thursday.

Rao, accompanied by Y.K. Sinha, joint secretary (in charge of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan) in the external affairs ministry, held the seventh round of strategic dialogue with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Fathollahi in Tehran.

Rao also called on Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Minister for Economy and Finance Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini.

The two sides focused on the danger emanating from terrorists based in Pakistan to their security, an issue that was discussed in November last year between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Iranian counterpart in New Delhi.

The two sides also discussed the transit route from the Iranian port of Chabahar to Afghanistan, which Iran and India have jointly developed. Besides, they spoke about a North-South rail link to provide better connectivity for Afghanistan to Central Asia.

India and Iran share similar perspectives on the shifting situation in Afghanistan and are opposed to any power-sharing arrangement with the Taliban in that country.

Although India grudgingly accepted the proposal endorsed at the Jan 28 London conference on reintegration and reconciliation with the Taliban, New Delhi continues to have reservations about the effectiveness of the proposal, an anxiety that is shared by Tehran.

Iran, an influential player in Afghanistan due to its relations with Hazara tribes, did not participate in the London conference.

The two sides discussed an entire spectrum of bilateral issues, including intensification of economic ties and the tri-nation gas pipeline that is embroiled in differences over the pricing of the Iranian gas and security of the pipeline.

The next meeting of the India-Iran Joint Commission will be held in New Delhi soon.

Rao also met Iran’s pointperson on nuclear talks, Saeed Jalili, secretary, Supreme National Security Council and a close ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

This was the first high-level visit from the Indian side to Iran after India voted against Tehran in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in November last year over a secret uranium enrichment facility it was suspected of developing.

Rao reiterated India’s oft-voiced position that New Delhi respected Tehran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy provided it was within the purview of Iran’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Rao’s visit to Tehran coincided with increasing international pressure on Iran to abandon its suspected nuclear weapon aspirations.