Iran warns atomic opponents trade ties may suffer

Parisa Hafezi, Reuters:

Iran threatened on Tuesday to use trade ties to punish countries that voted against it at the U.N. atomic watchdog, after Tehran failed to convince the world its nuclear programme was peaceful.

Officials said they were particularly shocked by India's backing for an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution passed on Saturday requiring that Iran be reported in the future to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

But Tehran reassured New Delhi, hoping to sate a voracious appetite for energy through deals with the world's second biggest holder of oil and natural gas, that it would not take any hasty actions against India.

"We will reconsider our economic cooperation with those countries that voted against us," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters at a weekly news conference.

"India's vote came as a great surprise to us," he added.

India was among the 22 out of 35 delegations that voted against Iran at the IAEA.

But Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Iran was willing to continue its "friendly" relationship with India.

"We should not lose a friend because of one incident," Larijani told reporters. "We will have talks with India over Iran's nuclear ambitions in the future."

Washington accuses Iran of seeking nuclear warheads, but Tehran insists it needs atomic fuel for power stations.

India in June signed a $22 billion deal to import liquefied natural gas from Iran for 25 years from 2009, when Iran's exports of the supercooled fuel are due to hit world markets.

India has also been seeking to pipe gas overland from Iran in a bold $7 billion project that will cross some of the most rugged and lawless stretches of Pakistan.

THE OIL WEAPON

Angered by the IAEA resolution, Tehran has already threatened to resume uranium enrichment -- a process that can be used to make bomb-grade material -- and curtail short-notice U.N. inspections.

Analysts had predicted Iran could also roll out the oil weapon in a bid to prompt a change of heart among countries seeking to send Iran to the Security Council.

But such a move could backfire. Oil accounts for 80 percent of export earnings and interrupting that flow of hard cash would be politically risky.

India had no immediate reaction to Asefi's remarks but its Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said on Monday New Delhi's stance at the IAEA should not cause much trouble.

"I see no reason why there should be apprehension that there would be any kind of impact on our energy security," he said, adding India had supported Iran by helping to delay an immediate Security Council referral.

Diplomats reckon referral is most likely in November.

Larijani warned about the "massive consequences" of referral without elaborating.

"I don't think any rush to refer Iran's case would be useful for America and the EU," he said. READ MORE

European Union "big three" France, Germany and Britain, who have drawn most of Iran's ire for drafting the IAEA resolution, also have key investment deals in Iran's energy, automotive and petrochemicals sectors.

Japan, another strong advocate of the IAEA resolution against Iran, is seeking to increase its imports from the Islamic Republic through a $2 billion development of the giant Azadegan oilfield in Iran's southwestern oil heartlands.