New Delhi, Feb 13: A senior Iranian official has said that China is keen to join the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and if New Delhi does not take a decision soon. He further said that then Beijing may replace New Delhi in the deal.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Ali Hosseini, who is on a visit to New Delhi said in an unambiguous statement that there is limited time left for India to take a decision on the gas pipeline, the Dawn reported.

"Expedite the decision-making process to finalise the gas deal. We don’t have a lot of time," Hosseini said.

Asked how long Iran was ready to wait for India to take a decision on the gas pipeline, Hosseini was quoted as saying: "There is a hope to expedite the process by all three countries... China is also applying pressure and wants to join the project." (ANI)