Iranian gas needed for Nabucco debatable

A top EU official says Nabucco needs Iran's gas, according Russian and Iranian media, while a top U.S. official is adamantly opposed.

Russian news agency Itar-Tass and Iran's Fars News Agency and Press TV report Javier Solana, the EU's top foreign policy official, said gas from Iran is necessary for the pipeline project to be filled.

Nabucco is a priority for Europe in its attempt to diversify its growing consumption from its dependence on Russia. The 2,000-plus mile pipeline is planned to send 31 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkey to Austria by 2012 or 2013.

"Absolutely not a single molecule of Iranian gas is necessary" for Nabucco said Matthew Bryza, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. He said there's enough gas in Azerbaijan, let alone prospects from Egypt, Iraq and the Caspian Sea region, to fill it.