India welcomes deal on Iran's controversial nuclear programme

India, on Sunday, welcomed the prospect of resolution of issues related to Iran's controversial nuclear programme through dialogue and diplomacy after Tehran agreed to curb it under a deal with six world power.

"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.

Capping four days of negotiations, representatives of 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 to slow its controversial nuclear programme in return for about USD 7 billion in sanctions relief.

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.

The agreement is consistent with India's position that the issue should be resolved diplomatically on the basis of a recognition of Iran's right to peaceful use of nuclear energy and in accordance with its international obligations as a non-nuclear weapon state.

While stating that government was "in the process of obtaining details from our key interlocutors", the spokesperson recalled that India had welcomed the earlier agreement reached on November 11 between Iran and the IAEA, which is the only competent technical agency to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activities, on practical measures for enhanced IAEA verification activity at Iranian nuclear sites.

However, sanctions on oil exports from Iran will continue, affecting India and other countries. India has slashed import of crude oil from Iran by over 26.5 per cent in the financial year ended March 31 as US and European sanctions made it difficult to ship oil from the Persian Gulf nation.

Under the deal, 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.

Described as an "initial, six-month" deal, it could build trust and confidence between Iran and the international community and can lead to a durable and long-term settlement of the nuclear issue.