New Delhi, Sept. 25: The CPM has slammed the Manmohan Singh government for India’s vote yesterday on Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and has threatened to launch a “countrywide campaign” to get the Centre to change its stand.

However, sources in the Left parties said the nature of the protest will be decided after taking up the Iran issue with the government.

The CPM said in a statement that the government has “caved in to US pressure”. It said the resolution adopted by the IAEA on Iran was unjustifiable.

“It is shameful that India has voted with the US and western countries to refer Iran to the UN Security Council unless it complies with demands made,” the CPM said.

However, the foreign ministry sought to justify the decision to vote with the West, saying that it was done to safeguard “legitimate” Iranian interests.

Attempting to explain the logic behind India’s decision, foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said: “India has been working with all the different groups within the IAEA to encourage a consensus. We have held intensive consultations, both in Vienna and in New York, to safeguard the legitimate interests of Iran even while responding to proliferation concerns.”

He added: “India’s strong opposition to taking the issue to the Security Council was helpful to Iran.”

The CPM pointed out that even on the eve of the IAEA vote, the Indian government had maintained that the issue should be dealt with within the framework of the IAEA and that decisions have to be taken through consensus.

The foreign ministry said the issue can still be resolved at the IAEA before its board of governors meets in November.

The CPM said it is “noteworthy” that apart from Russia and China, 10 countries from the non-aligned movement abstained from the vote. “Even Pakistan, which is more beholden to the US, abstained,” the party’s statement said.

The CPM said the government “caved in under the threat from the US that it has to choose where it stands ? with the US or Iran ? and the blunt message that the nuclear cooperation pact will not be ratified by the US Congress if India takes an independent stand”.

But officials sought to delink the issue from India’s nuclear deal with the US. “The Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement stands on its own,” a foreign ministry official said.