India's vote "came as a great surprise to us", particularly since Tehran signed a $22bn liquefied natural gas deal with New Delhi this June
India's Vienna vote could well seal the fate of this heightened oil diplomacy initiated by the two countries in recent months. Mr Asefi on Tuesday said, "We will send a letter of objection to the countries that voted for the resolution," warning the 22 countries which voted for the resolution on Saturday, of economic consequences.
"Iran will revise these (economic and trade) relations and these countries will suffer. Our economic and political relations are coordinated with each other," Mr Asefi said. This echoes Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad's comment last month that, "economic ties are not irrelevant to political ties", with countries which "fail to recognise Iran's legitimate rights".
"India's vote was a blow to Iran's attempt to turn this into a developed world versus a developing world debate," US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said over the weekend. This celebration of Iran's isolation from the world, deserted as it stands by known friends like India, has sent Iran into a defiant mode.
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