TEHRAN: Iran on Saturday promised Pakistan a transfer of natural gas until the end of 2012, official news agency IRNA reported. In a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that a new gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan would hopefully become operational by the end of 2012.
The Iran-Pakistani gas pipeline, reportedly already completed on the Iranian side with the over 1000 kilometer pipeline already in place, has apparently been one of the reasons for Zardari's short visit to Tehran. The pipeline was supposed to transfer the annual 740 million cubic feet of natural gas also to India - therefore dubbed as a "peace pipeline" - but talks with New Delhi have been stalled.
Zardari arrived on Saturday in Tehran for a one-day visit and immediately met Ahmadinejad at the presidential palace in Tehran. Ahmadinejad also said he hoped that annual bilateral trade would soon reach a value of over one billion dollars. Zardari welcomed expansion of bilateral trade but suggested that instead of the US dollar, the two states should use their own local currencies. Zardari, who was in Tehran last month for an anti-terrorism conference, also met Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei said that for keeping national unity, Pakistan should stick to Islamic principles and get rid of its enemies.
"The main enemy of Pakistani people and their national unity are the Western countries and mainly the United States ... may God the Almighty remove all these enemies from Pakistan," said Khamenei. According to the Iranian constitution, Khamenei has the final say on all state affairs.
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