India firm on gas-pipeline deal with Iran despite U.S. opposition

NEW DELHI: India won't be deterred by Washington's opposition to its plans to buy gas from Iran, Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said Thursday, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced differences with New Delhi over the project. "It is all rubbish," the minister told reporters referring to media reports that India would shelve its plans to import gas from Iran via a pipeline that would pass through Pakistan due to Washington's concerns.

Rice told a news conference in New Delhi after talks with Indian leaders that the U.S. had already expressed its opposition to last month's agreement by the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers to go ahead with the $4.5 billion pipeline linking Iran's South Pars gas field to India via southwest Pakistan.

"I think that our views concerning Iran are very well known by this time. We have communicated to the Indian government our concerns about the gas pipeline cooperation between Iran and India," Rice said.

Oil Ministry sources said Thursday the pricing of gas from Iran would in the final run determine the viability of the project as firms importing the gas would have to be able to sell it to domestic consumers at an affordable price.

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