Iranian Nuclear Issue Should be Resolved Through Talks: India

New Delhi: In a guarded reaction to the US pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, India on Wednesday said all the parties concerned should engage constructively to resolve the issue peacefully.

At the same time, spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy as also the international community's strong interest in exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme must be ensured while finding a resolution to the issue.

India has been maintaining that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and diplomacy, he said.

President Donald Trump had on Tuesday announced that the US was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration in 2015 under which Tehran had agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

"India has always maintained that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and diplomacy by respecting Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy as also the international community's strong interest in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme," Kumar said.

Iran had struck the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) deal with the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany after years of negotiations.

Kumar said all parties should engage constructively to address and resolve issues that have arisen with respect to the JCPoA. The US President's decision to abandon the agreement has shocked the world, with America's closest allies such as France, Germany and the UK expressing concern over it while Iran's foes Israel and Saudi Arabia welcoming the move.

Describing the JCPoA as a bad deal, Trump had said the nuclear deal was unlikely to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.The Indo-Iran ties have been on a upswing after Tehran sealed the nuclear deal with the international community in 2015.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Tehran in May 2016 with an aim to craft a strategic relationship with Iran and expand India's ties with West Asia.

During the visit, India and Iran signed nearly a dozen pacts centre piece of which was an agreement on development of Chabahar port.Later, India, Iran and Afghanistan inked a trilateral pact providing for transport of goods among the three countries through the port.In February last, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited India during which both sides agreed to further expand their cooperation in number of key sectors.

During Rouhani's visit here, both sides inked nine pacts including one on handing over Chabahar port's operation to India for 18 months.India and Iran have robust economic and commercial ties covering many sectors though it has traditionally been dominated by the import of Iranian crude oil by India.

According to the external affairs ministry, India-Iran bilateral trade during the fiscal year 2016-17 was USD 12.89 billion. India imported USD 10.5 billion worth of goods,mainly crude oil, and exported commodities worth USD 2.4 billion.

It is not immediately clear whether the US decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal will impact India's trade ties with Iran.