Stopping in Calcutta during her visit to India, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton urged the energy-starved country to lower their oil imports from Iran. Tehran is facing sanctions for a nuclear programme that could, it is feared, develop nuclear weapons. Tehran claims that the programme is for civilian purposes only. The US plans on imposing sanctions on banks based in countries which will not cut their oil purchases from Iran. Clinton is also looking forward to meeting the chief minister of the eastern state of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, before heading to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Clinton said that there had been good progress during the visit but more work still needs to be done on Indian ties. Clinton believes that it is India’s role in the international community to assist with diplomacy in resolving the threat from Iran’s nuclear programme.