New Delhi, Feb. 12: Iran today urged India to speed up the gas pipeline project and hinted that Beijing could step in if Delhi didn’t.

China is reported to have told Pakistan, which is also involved in the project, that it was interested in importing the additional gas if India did not join the project.

“We can’t wait so long for the project,” Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Seyyed Mohammad Ali Husseini said here.

Asked whether the plan was in cold storage, he said: “The project is very much on. A tripartite meeting (Iran, Pakistan and India) will take place. It’s a huge project and will help stability in the region.”

Husseini made a veiled reference to China, saying “others had expressed interest in the project”.

“The energy market is a highly competitive market. But let this project take off first.”

Pakistan and Iran have finalised a gas-purchase agreement. But a similar pact with India has been elusive because of differences over the transit fee to be charged by Islamabad.