India welcomes resolution of Iran's nuclear programme issues

New Delhi: India today welcomed the prospect of resolution of issues related to Iran’s contentious nuclear programme in the backdrop of Tehran striking a landmark deal with P5+1 group of nations. “India welcomes the prospect of resolving questions related to Iran’s nuclear programme through dialogue and diplomacy,” official spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said here. [caption id=“attachment_1246623” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Nuclear lab in Iran. AP[/caption] Capping four days of negotiations, representatives the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany (P5+1 group of nations) reached an agreement with Iran in the early hours in Geneva. Under the deal, Iran agreed to give better access to inspectors and halt some of its work on uranium enrichment. But Iranian negotiators insisted they still had a right to nuclear power. In return, there will be no new nuclear-related sanctions on Iran for six months. Iran will also stop enriching uranium beyond 5 per cent, the level at which it can be used for weapons research, and reduce its stockpile of uranium enriched beyond this point. Iran will also receive sanctions relief worth about USD 7billion on sectors including precious metals. The agreement – described as an “initial, six-month” deal – includes “substantial limitations that will help prevent Iran from creating a nuclear weapon,” US President Barack Obama said in a nationally televised address. PTI