Mumbai: India is pushing its plans to import natural gas from Iran through the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline despite US opposition to India''''s dealing with Tehran, a senior official at Iranian state gas company.

"At the end of this week we will have a meeting with them," Nosratollah Sayfi, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) said on the sidelines of a gas conference in Rome.

"Every time we asked whether they were under pressure from the United States they said ''''no, we will follow national opportunities.'''' And that is what they are doing."

The US, which blames Iran of carrying on a secret plan to develop nuclear weapons, has sought to discourage other countries from doing business with that country.

A month earlier Washington that India would be better off securing its energy future by working with the US to develop civilian nuclear energy.

The US has used all possible avenues to pressure India not to move forward with the project.

While India and Pakistan disagree on some issues, the Iranian official said NIGEC was currently meeting Pakistani and Indian officials over the operational agreement for the pipeline.

India is concerned about transit fees that Pakistan wanted to levy on the gas and worried over security of the gas pipeline that passes through hostile territory.

"They had some negotiations about the cost of the transit and transport that Pakistan claimed," Sayfi said on the sidelines of the CWC World LNG summit. "That is why they want Iran to observe the meetings."