NYT (NEW DELHI) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Ne
w Delhi Tuesday, 30 April 2008. An Indian official described the meeting as a "high visibility visit" with a slim chance of tangible outcomes. As the United States presses India to exert greater pressure on Iran to limit it's nuclear program, the government of Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh is under increasing pressure from it's political critics at home to assert it's independence from the US. Iran has become the perfect proxy. Lalit Mansingh stated, "It is good for the government to be seen taking a stand that the US may not like ". Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/world/asia/30india.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin(Reliability: 8.5)
Comment: India would like to maintain good relations with Iran for other reasons as well. Iran is the second largest supplier of oil to energy starved India, as well as potential future supplier of natural gas. India also has a substantial community of Shiite Muslims loyal to the Iranian Ayatollah.
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