America's foreign policy goals must not affect India-Iran trade.

The government has done the right thing by pushing back against US pressure to stop importing oil from Iran. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton brought up the subject during her visit this week, other American dignitaries will also exert similar pressures. India cut its imports from Iran to 14 million tonnes last fiscal from 17.5 million tonnes the previous year, largely because of hurdles in making payments, imposed by the US and EU.

The government should revive the earlier payment mechanism through the Tehran-based Asian Clearing Union, which includes both the Reserve Bank of India and Iran's Central Bank as members. India's energy needs are growing, it can't depend on any one supplier for its fuel needs. In any case, no other nation has the right to tell India who it should trade with. America's problems with Iran date back to the Islamic revolution of 1979; its recent prickliness stems from its suspicions that Iran might be building a nuclear bomb.

America has slapped ever-stricter sanctions on Iran and the EU has followed suit meekly. Many nations, including China and Russia, continue to trade with Iran and favour negotiations as the way forward to sort out trouble between Tehran and the West. The US is also lobbying against a pipeline to carry gas from Iran through Pakistan to India. Instead of this route, America is pushing for one that originates in Turkmenistan and passes through Afghanistan and Pakistan before landing in India. The fact that Afghanistan does not have an administration, which can guarantee the safety of any asset whatsoever, seems to have skipped the minds of US policymakers.

America's foreign policy goals in this part of the world do overlap India's but are not identical with them. Oil from Iran, which holds the world's second-largest reserves of crude, means that India does not become overly dependent on its principal supplier, Saudi Arabia. And gas would be welcome, too. Historically, India and Iran have enjoyed cordial economic , cultural and political ties. Washington's foreign policy objectives shouldn't disrupt those.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com