Iran, India stress pipeline deal by July

Iran and India are 'determined' to sign a contract to build a natural-gas pipeline via Pakistan by June 30.

"The desire to sign the agreement on the $7.4 billion project demonstrates the two countries' political will to implement the contract as quickly as possible," Hojatollah Ghanimifard told Shana, the press agency of the Islamic republic's oil ministry.

The pipeline, which is yet to receive clear pledges of funding, has been in the planning stage for more than a decade. The US wants India to shun the project to isolate Iran, which it says is trying to make nuclear weapons.

Deora said last month that India can't be pressured into backing out of the project and held talks in Tehran on April 26 with the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Iranian counterpart, Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh.

Iran has less than a month to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran has less than a month to suspend uranium enrichment. or face possible further sanctions from the UN Security Council.

The council passed a resolution on March 24 freezing the assets of a state-owned Iranian bank and imposing penalties on some military commanders. Iran has since pressed ahead with the production of nuclear fuel.

Iran also wants to ship more gas to Europe through Turkey, using the planned Nabucco pipeline.

A group of companies led by Vienna-based OMV AG, plans to spend ($6.3 billion) on building the pipeline, which would link western Europe to the Caspian Sea and possibly Iran and Iraq.