India's effort to meet its growing energy demand and raise its international profile has it treading a fine diplomatic line, as it finds itself increasingly caught in the crossfire of US-Iran tensions. Washington wants Delhi to do more to curb its imports of Iranian crude, continuing its campaign of targeting Iran's energy sector to force Tehran to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons programme. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton used her visit to India last week to press the issue, with diplomatic discussions continuing to wean India's refiners off their Iranian dependence, which totalled 370,000 b/d last year (WPA, 11 May, p10).
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