By IANS,
New Delhi : The US and India share the goal of preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday.
Addressing the media along with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna after their talks here, she said Iran was unlikely to discuss the issue with other countries if there was no international pressure.
“We want to prevent Iran from procuring a nuclear weapon,” she said. “As I said in Kolkata, we don’t believe Iran will be back on the negotiation table until there is unrelenting pressure.
“This pressure must stay on.”
Clinton commended India for the steps its refineries were taking to reduce fuel imports from Iran.
She added: “We are also consulting with India and working with them on alternative sources of energy supply.”
Krishna said he had conveyed to Clinton India’s soaring energy needs and the reasons why it was continuing to trade with Iran.
“Iran remains an importance source for us although our imports are declining. We have discussed our position and perspective on energy security and these discussions will continue,” the minister said.
Krishna added that the Iranian nuclear issue was not a source of discord between the US and India.