New Delhi ? The U.S. ambassador to India said Wednesday that a nuclear deal between India and the United States could “die” if New Delhi supports Iran during a U.N. atomic watchdog agency meeting. The State Department said the envoy was speaking for himself.

A week before the International Atomic Energy Agency meets to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, Ambassador David Mulford said that if India does not vote to refer Tehran to the U.N. Security Council, it would be “devastating” to the deal currently before the U.S. Congress.

“I think the Congress will simply stop considering the matter,” Mulford told the Press Trust of India news agency.

The deal, seen as a cornerstone of the emerging alliance between India and the United States, “will die in the Congress,” he said.

The U.S. Embassy confirmed that Mulford was accurately quoted. The State Department in Washington said later that Mulford wasn’t speaking for the U.S. government.

After Mulford’s comments, India reiterated that the two issues should remain separate.