New Delhi, Sept. 28: The breakfast spread, a mix of south Indian and Continental, was delicious as usual at the Prime Minister’s 7 Race Course Road residence. But the storm that brewed over Iran would have blown some of the flavour away.

Manmohan Singh had invited Left leaders to breakfast today to explain why his government had voted with the US last week, referring Iran to the Security Council over its nuclear programme. The Left had dubbed Delhi’s decision “shameful” and threatened a nationwide strike.

This morning, neither side had anything to add to what it had already said and the gulf remained.

The Prime Minister had by his side defence minister Pranab Mukherjee and foreign secretary Shyam Saran. The Left line-up was: CPI leaders A.B. Bardhan and D. Raja, Sitaram Yechury of the CPM and Abani Roy of the RSP.

The guests told the Prime Minister that Delhi must redeem itself by not voting with the US at the next meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in November. Singh refused to give a commitment.

Bardhan asked what India had “gained” from its move. Saran replied Delhi had gained time before the next IAEA meeting and would use it to persuade the West to work for a consensus on Iran.

Saran also repeated the argument that Delhi took the decision in the interests of Iran as well as its own. But the Left would not buy this, saying the Centre had betrayed the Third World and jettisoned the policy of non-alignment.