US’s Haley tells India to ‘rethink’ Iran ties

NEW DELHI: The US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on Thursday urged India to reconsider its ties to Iran, one of its key energy suppliers, as fresh US sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil loom.

Haley said she understood India “can’t change its relationship with Iran in a day” but said she used a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to encourage a reassessment.“I also think for the future of India, and the future of being able to get resources and who they’re dependent on, I would encourage them to rethink their relationship with Iran,” she told broadcaster NDTV after an address in New Delhi.

“I think as a friend, India should also decide is this a country that they want to continue doing business with.”Haley said that a top-level strategic dialogue with India will take place as soon as possible, after Washington put off the meeting for a second time in months.

India and the United States have built close political and defence ties and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis were due to hold joint talks with their Indian counterparts in Washington on July 6. But Pompeo called Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday night to say that the United States had to postpone the meeting because of unavoidable reasons, the Indian foreign ministry said.

Haley said the ministers would discuss how Washington can continue to support India “as a provider of regional security, particularly in and around the Indian Ocean.” “These discussions will undoubtedly involve issues like joint exercises and military hardware and technology. But the strategic partnership we hope to build is bigger and more durable than that,” Haley told the India Observer Research Foundation think-tank in New Delhi.

Indian officials also planned to discuss the issue of sweeping US sanctions on Russia under which any country engaged with its defence and intelligence sectors could face secondary US sanctions.

The US move has threatened a proposed $6 billion air defence missile deal that India is negotiating with Russia to help it counter the ballistic missiles and stealth aircraft that China is developing.

Haley, a member of Trump’s cabinet, said the postponement of the meeting in Washington had nothing to do with any policy issues. “The meeting is being discussed right now and being rescheduled as soon as possible. It was a situation that couldn’t be avoided and it will come out publicly in the next few days,” she said. Trade differences between the United States and India are also increasing. Last week, New Delhi raised duties on US farm products in retaliation against Trump’s tariff hikes on steel and aluminium.

The US embassy said in a statement that Washington remained committed to a strong relationship with India. “The US -India partnership is a major strategic priority for the Trump administration.