India told of US concern over Iran pipeline

NEW DELHI, Thursday (Reuters) The United States has reminded India about its concerns over Iran, as New Delhi prepares for talks on a $4 billion pipeline to bring Iranian natural gas to South Asia, a newspaper said on Thursday.

U.S. ambassador to New Delhi David Mulford told India's Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar that Washington faced serious difficulties with Iran because of its nuclear programme, and there appeared no immediate solution, the Indian Express said.

"Washington has officially conveyed to New Delhi that the Bush administration continues to have serious concerns on Tehran and can't foresee how events there will shape up," it said.

The newspaper said it was the first time the United States had formally conveyed its reservations about the long-running proposal to build the pipeline that will go through Pakistan.

There was no immediate comment from either the U.S. embassy or the Indian government on the newspaper report.

The newspaper said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will likely reiterate her concerns over Iran to Indian and Pakistan leaders during her first tour of the region next week.

The ambitious pipeline project was stalled for years, mainly because of differences between India and Pakistan, and concern in New Delhi that its energy supplies could be held hostage to Islamabad if tensions rose.