India Friday said tremendous diplomatic efforts by it had helped avert a vote on the Iran nuclear issue at the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna. The efforts staved off a possible confrontation and opened the door for negotiations to resolve the issue within the nuclear watchdog.
Official sources in New Delhi said a divisive vote that would have led to the issue being referred to the United Nations Security Council would have exacerbated an already difficult situation and might have resulted in Iran walking out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Any such decision could also have pushed Tehran into expelling IAEA inspectors from Iran and nudged it into going ahead with uranium enrichment activity, the sources said.
The government was extremely happy and relieved that there was no vote at the IAEA Board of Governors' meeting in Vienna Thursday giving time for vital diplomatic space to resolve the issue within the IAEA, they said.
India, the sources, said was in close touch with the European Union-3 countries comprising Britain, Germany and France besides having some exchanges with the US, China, Russia, South Africa and also Iran.
The sources said it was in India's interest to see that a tense situation did not develop in its neighbourhood. India also took into account apprehensions that even a threat of sanctions against Iran could send oil prices in the international market shooting up.
The sources said EU-3 is likely to resume talks with Iran early December with Russia expected to facilitate it. The whole exercise is to re-engage Iran in the dialogue and arrive at some kind of compromise, they noted.
India has termed as reassuring the IAEA director general's observation in his report that Iran has been more forthcoming in providing the agency additional access to sites and individuals.
The sources said the message sent to Iran was that while it has the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, how this right was exercised required Tehran showing more flexibility.
If there was positive development in this direction, the next sign post would be the meeting of IAEA slated for March, the sources said.
