Left agrees with govt's stand on Iran

Any dispute about Iran's nuke capability should be kept within IAEA: Karat.

In a sharp turnaround, the Left parties today agreed with the Manmohan Singh government that it was New Delhi's job to ensure that Tehran's nuclear intransigence on nuclear matters should not be referred to the UN Security Council and that Indian diplomatic efforts should be directed towards that end.

Just a week ago, the CPI(M) in an article in the People's Democracy had warned the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of dire consequences should India vote along with the US at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting.

The party obliquely acknowledged today that this was only part of the story when it was informed that the US had, in fact, been in favour of referring the matter to the UN Security Council the last time around and it was India's role as an honest broker that had prevented this from happening.

As a diplomatic gesture, India had agreed to vote in a resolution that rapped Iran on the knuckles for not fulfiling its nuclear obligations, a move that was criticised by the Left parties as "pathetic" subservience to the US position.

The Left had also asked India to be on the same side as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), not realising that NAM countries had no homogeneous position on this issue.

"The government informed the Left parties of the progress made through diplomatic efforts (on the issue). It was noted that the government's intention was to ensure that the matter remained within the jurisdiction of the IAEA," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters after a two-hour meeting of the Left-UPA coordination committee, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, who was also present at the meeting, said, "Our position has all along been that any dispute about Iran's nuclear capability should be kept within the confines of the IAEA and not taken to the UN Security Council. Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has its rights and obligations."

"The UPA government has expressed its intention to make all diplomatic efforts to keep the issue within the confines of the IAEA and this concurs with the views always held by the Left," he said.

Asked about the IAEA findings that Iran's nuclear mission was based on illegal supply of inputs from controversial Pakistan scientist AQ Khan, Yechury said, "The IAEA made these findings. Let them take a decision on their own findings."

Asked what the government would do if a situation arose at the November 24 IAEA meeting where a vote might be required, Yechury said, "The next vote will mean that the issue goes to the Security Council. We will oppose that and the government is also working towards that objective (to avoid vote). There could also be a possibility that a vote is not required at all".

The Left parties would await the outcome of the IAEA meeting, he added.