Like all States, 'Iran is entitled to the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and should at the same time restore international confidence to the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear activities,' he said.
'To that end, we support intensification of efforts to address the Iranian nuclear issue by peaceful means, through dialogue and negotiation,' Puri said at a briefing on Iran Sanctions Committee.
India also believed that the International Atomic Energy Agency has a central role in resolution of technical issues concerning Iranian nuclear programme.
Calling upon all sides to fully implement the Security Council resolutions, Puri said there should be no violation of the mandated measures.
'At the same time, all efforts should be made to ensure that legitimate trade and economic activities of Iranian entities and those of other countries should not suffer,' he said promising to contribute towards the Sanctions committee's work in that direction as one of its members.
Noting that Iran is part of what has been defined as India's 'proximate neighbourhood', Puri said, 'Iran, located at the crossroads of the Indian sub-continent, Central Asia and Middle East, is an important country and has a role to play in regional issues.'
India and Russia in a joint statement supported the Iranian nuclear research for use in peaceful energy purposes.
“India and Russia reiterated that all possible efforts should be made to address the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations and agreed that Iran has the right to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in conformity with its international obligations. The sides call on Iran to comply with the provisions of the respective UN Security Council resolutions and extend full cooperation with the IAEA”, the joint statement said.
As US gathers support to impose fresh sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, India on Saturday made clear its opposition to such a step, saying it would not solve the problem.
At the same time, India wants Iran to work with UN nuclear watchdog IAEA to convince the world that it is not seeking nuclear weapons as claimed by it.
"We are not sure sanctions are an answer. We don't think sanctions will solve the problem," sources said while articulating India's position on the moves by the US to garner support for fresh UN sanctions against Iran.
The US is currently holding talks with other permanent members of the UN Security Council for support on a resolution to impose fourth round of sanctions on Iran.
India opposes sanctions as it feels that these only impact common people.
Noting that Iran has been saying that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, the sources said many countries across the world, however, are not convinced by it.
"The best way to reassure the world is to work with IAEA," they said.
India has always maintained that the controversy over Iran's nuclear programme should be addressed within the forum of IAEA rather than the UNSC.
About the perception that IAEA has lately hardened its stance vis-a-vis Iran's nuclear programme, the sources said exasperation may be setting in as the UN atomic watchdog has been involved in the matter for long and got no assurance.
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