By Richard Weitz
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to India may not garner quite the same headlines her China trip did. But Iran ensures the visit may still be tricky.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may not face a situation as vexed the Chen Guangcheng crisis during her ongoing visit to India, but the issue of how to tackle Iran could still be a thorn in the side of bilateral ties.
The government of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is balancing competing U.S., Israeli, and other Western concerns that, in the form of sanctions, can seriously harm the Indian economy. But Singh also wants to avoid harming India’s good relations with these countries at a time when Indians’ enormous energy needs and lack of alternative sources mean that they will need to continue to import some Iranian oil for years to come. Add to this the fact that India also wishes to remain on good terms with Tehran, and it’s clear why the U.S. and India don’t see eye to eye.
The differences risk coming to a head next month as India and the United States run up against an end of June deadline that will require the United States to impose sanctions on countries that haven’t significantly reduced their imports of Iranian oil. The Obama administration earlier announced that a dozen European countries had earned a waiver by reducing their Iranian oil imports. But only one Asian country, Japan, has so far qualified.
Read the full story at The Diplomat