Iran Waves China Card At India On Pipeline Project

MUMBAI -

Tired of waiting for the Indian government to come to terms on a natural gas pipeline project, an Iranian official warned that China was eager to step in on the deal in India's place.

“Other countries are eager for implementation of the project. China is putting pressure that she wants to join the project. We don’t have a lot of time,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Syed Mohammad Ali Hosseini told the news media in New Delhi on Tuesday, asking India to “expedite the decision-making.” But he also reiterated that Iran was keen on India’s participation in the project.

New Delhi and Islamabad have been unable to agree on transit pricing for the pipeline, which is planned to run from Iran's South Pars field through Pakistan to India. Indian officials have indicated they will hold talks with the new government formed in Pakistan after the Feb. 18 elections and then take part in trilateral talks.

Indian officials didn’t attend the last few meetings on the pipeline, citing their problems with pricing. Now, Iran and Pakistan could reportedly sign a natural gas purchase agreement this month for the $7 billion pipeline. Pakistan is likely to import 2.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day from Iran. China has reportedly said it would import about 1 billion cubic feet a day from Pakistan if India opts out.

The 1,400-mile pipeline has been in the planning for about 10 years. Iran is home to about 15% of the world’s natural gas reserves, the largest amount after Russia.

Washington has pressured New Delhi to drop the project, saying Iran will use the money generated to fund its clandestine nuclear program. But Indian lawmakers maintain their only issues over the pipeline are pricing and its commercial viability.

Tehran says its nuclear program is only for energy production and has refused to halt it.