New Delhi, March 27
Four days after US President Barack Obama hosts the high-profile Nuclear Security Summit in Washington (April 12-13), Iran would convene an international conference on the same lines, amid threats of crippling sanctions against it.

At the Tehran International Disarmament Conference on April 17-18, with its theme “Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for None”, Iran proposes to showcase its strength in the field and dispel what it calls misgivings about its nuclear programme.

Iran is inviting ministers, officials and nuclear experts from over 60 countries for the conference. At the two-day conference, Iran is expected to pitch for nuclear disarmament of the US and Israel, something which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for in retaliation to sanction threats. Iran is also likely to use the conference to emphasise the need to attach a timetable to Article 6 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which seeks to ensure complete disarmament under strict international control.

Asked if India was being invited for the conference, sources replied in the affirmative. The invitation to New Delhi would be extended when External Affairs Minister SM Krishna visits Tehran shortly.

The invitation could obviously put India in a dilemma. New Delhi has for long taken the position that it does not want a nuclear power in its neighbourhood and that Iran must adhere to its obligations under the NPT.

On top of it, the meet in Tehran, which may eventually turn out to be a forum for US-bashing, will take place close on the heels of the much-talked about Washington summit, at which India will be represented by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.