Thaindian News

United Nations, March 23 (IANS) Expressing support for Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy “consistent with their international obligations”, India has called for intensification of efforts to address the Iranian nuclear issue through peaceful dialogue.

“As a country abiding by all its obligations of international treaties and having strong credentials of non-proliferation, India has taken a consistent stand on the Iran nuclear issue,” India’s Permanent Representative Hardeep Singh Puri told the UN Security Council Tuesday.

Like all States, “Iran is entitled to the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and should at the same time restore international confidence to the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear activities,” he said.

“To that end, we support intensification of efforts to address the Iranian nuclear issue by peaceful means, through dialogue and negotiation,” Puri said at a briefing on Iran Sanctions Committee.

India also believed that the International Atomic Energy Agency has a central role in resolution of technical issues concerning Iranian nuclear programme.

Calling upon all sides to fully implement the Security Council resolutions, Puri said there should be no violation of the mandated measures.

“At the same time, all efforts should be made to ensure that legitimate trade and economic activities of Iranian entities and those of other countries should not suffer,” he said promising to contribute towards the Sanctions committee’s work in that direction as one of its members.

Noting that Iran is part of what has been defined as India’s “proximate neighbourhood”, Puri said, “Iran, located at the crossroads of the Indian sub-continent, Central Asia and Middle East, is an important country and has a role to play in regional issues.”