Warm Iran ties could help US dialogue: India

India's good relations with Iran and the United States make it able to "provide the linkages" for any dialogue between Tehran and Washington, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said yesterday.
"We remain good friends with the US and we are extremely good friends with Iran," he told a conference on the Gulf nation.
"It places us in a very significant position to be able to bridge the gaps and to provide the linkages necessary for a meaningful dialogue (between the United States and Iran)," Khurshid said, according to the Press Trust of India.
Energy-hungry India has been walking a diplomatic tightrope in the past few years as it continues to pursue good ties and to import oil from Iran while deepening relations with the United States.
Khurshid's statements came a day after US President Barack Obama told Iranian leaders in his State of the Union address it was time they ended a standoff over their disputed nuclear programme.