Iranian Foreign Minister postpones visit to India

New Delhi, July 19: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was scheduled to arrive here early this morning, has postponed his visit due to ''the situation in West Asia,'' the External Affairs Ministry announced here.

The Ministry, quoting the Iranian government, said the visit would be re-scheduled for other mutually-convenient dates.

It did not give any further details.

''The Iranian Government has informed us that the Foreign Minister of Iran, Mr Manouchehr Mottaki, who was scheduled to come to New Delhi early this morning on an official visit, has postponed his visit due to the situation in West Asia and proposed that the visit will be rescheduled for other, mutually convenient dates,'' a brief statement issued by the Ministry said.

The Iranian Foreign Minister was scheduled to arrive here on a three-day official visit for holding discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders on a wide range of bilateral and international issues.

The discussions were expected to be dominated by the Iran's nuclear standoff with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project and the situation in West Asia.

The visit would have taken place five months after India voted against Iran at the IAEA and three days after Tehran rejected New Delhi's pricing of the gas.

Situation in West Asia was also expected to come up during the discussions.

The situation, however, took a new turn with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert accusing Iran and Syria to be behind Hizbollah in the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

UNI