India on Wednesday urged all parties in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to resolve differences “peacefully through dialogue and diplomacy”. The reaction came hours after United States President Donald Trump announced his decision to exit the deal.
Reacting cautiously, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar appealed to all signatories to engage constructively. “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,” he said.
The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and Germany had signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran in 2015. The deal had lifted sanctions on Tehran in return for the promise that Iran would curb its nuclear programme.
When the deal was signed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called it a “triumph of diplomacy and sagacity”.
In an interview with The Indian Express after Trump’s announcement, Iran’s ambassador to India, Massoud Rezvanian Rahaghi, said oil trade between India and Iran would not be affected if the signatories stuck to promises and commitments under the nuclear deal. He said the development of the Chabahar port should not be affected by “any political cause or excuse”.
“Although one country has left, this international agreement will not fall down as long as other members respect their obligations,” he said. “If the European partners and others stick to their promises and commitments, one could expect that oil trade and shipping would not be affected as it happened some years ago. Therefore, oil trade can be done easily without much concern.”
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