On Board Special Aircraft: India will participate in the upgradation of strategically crucial Chahbahar port in Iran, that gives access to Afghanistan, and the issue will be discussed when External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid holds talks with his counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi. "We have taken a decision. We will collaborate for development of the port," Khurshid told reporters accompanying him on a three-day visit to Iran.
He said the Cabinet had given in-principal clearance for Indian participation in the project and negotiations will begin soon to work out cost and other issues. The upgradation process is expected to take two or more years, Khurshid said. Chahbahar port is strategically crucial as it gives access route to Afghanistan. Chahbahar port, which is surrounded by a free trade zone, is crucial particularly since Pakistan does not allow transit facility from India to Afghanistan.
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02:30 AM, May 04, 2013
New Delhi: Ways to increase commercial links with sanctions-hit Iran to reduce huge bilateral trade imbalance will be high on the agenda when External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid travels to Tehran on Friday on a three-day visit. India's participation in the upgradation of Iran's Chahbahar port, which gives access to Afghanistan, will also be among a host of issues expected to figure in the talks that Khurshid will have with...
03:25 AM, May 03, 2013
Jerusalem: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel held out hope on Sunday for a nonmilitary way to ending the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, but he also emphasized Washington's willingness to let Israel decide whether and when it might strike Tehran in self-defense. Hagel, on his first visit to Israel as Pentagon chief, seemed intent on burying the image that Republican critics painted of him as insufficiently supportive of the Jewish...
01:25 AM, Apr 22, 2013
Dubai: Iran test-fired a new land-to-sea ballistic missile in the Gulf, a senior official said on Tuesday, days before an annual ceremony meant to showcase its military muscle at a time of rising tension with the West over its nuclear activity. Israel has publicly warned of possible air strikes on Iran's nuclear sites if Tehran does not resolve Western suspicions it is developing nuclear weapons know-how under cover of a...
04:55 PM, Apr 16, 2013
Almaty: World powers and Iran failed again to ease their decade-old dispute over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme in talks that ended on Saturday, prolonging a stand-off that risks spiralling into a new Middle East war. The lack of a breakthrough in the two-day meeting in Kazakhstan aimed at easing international concern over Iran's contested nuclear activity marked a further setback for diplomatic efforts to resolve the row peacefully. It is...
06:45 AM, Apr 07, 2013
World powers hope Iran will respond positively on Wednesday to their new offer to lift some sanctions if Tehran scales back nuclear activity the West fears could be used to build bombs. But any hopes of a significant easing of the deadlock in the decade-old nuclear dispute were dented when Russian media cited a source close to the talks as saying there had been no clear progress in the discussions...
01:30 PM, Feb 27, 2013
Iran said it has found significant new deposits of raw uranium to feed its nuclear programme and has identified sites for 16 more nuclear power stations, just days before talks with the US and its allies over its disputed atomic programme. The Iran Atomic Energy Organisation report cited by state news agency IRNA on Saturday said the deposits were found in "southern coastal areas" and had trebled the amount outlined...
06:48 PM, Feb 23, 2013
Iran has accepted US offer for talks on its nuke programme on February 25th in Kazakhstan. US Vice President Joe Biden had offered to hold direct negotiations with Tehran. ...
01:20 PM, Feb 04, 2013
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday unveiled a new indigenous fighter jet, media reports said. Iran's advancement in military sector does not aim at "expansionism and violating others' rights", however, it will be utilized for "defensive and deterrence" purposes, Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by semi-official ISNA news agency in a ceremony held in Tehran. ...
09:42 AM, Feb 03, 2013
Iran state radio says two men have been hanged publicly after posting a video on YouTube showing them robbing and assaulting a man with a machete on a Tehran street. The execution was carried out on Sunday after officials called for a speedy investigation and trial because of public outrage. ...
07:35 PM, Jan 20, 2013
Iran's perceived nuclear threat against Israel will be the central issue concerning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government if he is re-elected in a month's time, the Israeli leader said on Saturday. Netanyahu has set out a mid-2013 "red line" for tackling Iran's uranium enrichment project. ...
05:00 PM, Dec 23, 2012
India, the world's fourth-biggest oil importer and Iran's second-biggest client, relies on outside supplies for 80 Per cent of its oil needs, or about 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd). ...
11:22 AM, Dec 20, 2012
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Syed Mohammed Kazmi, who is accused in the Israel embassy car blast case. The apex court had in September 2012 sought the response of Delhi Police on the bail plea of Kazmi, a journalist, who is accused in the February 13 attack on an Israeli diplomat. The police had claimed that Kazmi had confessed to the attack. Kazmi was arrested...
12:00 PM, Oct 19, 2012
I was onboard the Prime Minister's Special Air India One to report the 16th NAM summit last August. As the plane began its descent towards ...
07:19 AM, Oct 07, 2012
Syrian rebels on Friday issued a 48 hour deadline for Iran and Syria to give in to their demands to secure the release of 48 Iranians taken hostage earlier this year. They threatened to execute the Shiite pilgrims if Tehran and Damascus did not release captured Syrian rebels within 48 hours and stop shelling. The pilgrims were abducted in August. ...
11:31 AM, Oct 06, 2012
Tehran: The Great Satan still sells in Iran. Even after decades of diplomatic estrangement and tightening economic sanctions, American products manage to find their way into the Iranian marketplace. The routes are varied: back channel exporters, licensing workarounds and straightforward trade for goods not covered by the US embargoes over Iran's nuclear programme. It offers lessons in the immense difficulties facing Western attempts to isolate Iran's economy, which has deepening...
09:11 AM, Sep 16, 2012
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the NAM Summit in Tehran on Thursday evening. ...
09:19 AM, Aug 31, 2012
Tehran: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday met Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the NAM Summit in Tehran. The two leaders agreed to continue talks between India and Pakistan in a result-oriented manner. Singh and Zardari reaffirmed their commitment to continue dialogue between the countries as they exchanged their views on bilateral ties and regional issues. "Meeting with Pakistan President was useful for bilateral relation. We...
09:35 PM, Aug 30, 2012
Tehran: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday began a key meeting in Tehran, amid clear indications that terrorism would be the prime focus of the Indian side. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 16th NAM summit and is the second meeting between the two leaders this year. The meeting comes a day after the Supreme Court upheld Ajmal Amir Kasab's death...
08:09 PM, Aug 30, 2012
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to talk tough on terror. Government sources say Pakistan has already been given all the necessary evidence on 26/11. ...
01:11 PM, Aug 30, 2012
