The US has exempted the Chabahar port project in Iran, which is being co-developed by India, from its sanctions for a six-month period. This marks a turnaround from its withdrawal of its sanctions waiver over a month ago.
Sources said the sanctions waiver came into effect from October 29.
Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters Thursday: “Regarding exemption for Chabahar, yes, I can confirm that we have been granted exemption for a six-month period on the American sanctions that were applicable.”
On September 18, the US administration had announced the withdrawal of the sanctions waiver granted to the strategically located port, ending the exemption that was in place from 2018 — when the first Donald Trump administration was in power. Subsequently, the sanctions regime came into effect from September 29.
While the move targeted Iran, it also affected India, which has been developing the port along with the Islamic republic and sees it as a key means to access Afghanistan and Central Asia. Chabahar is also close to the Chinese-developed Gwadar port in Pakistan.
Chabahar is a deep water port located in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of Iran. It is the closest Iranian port to India, and is located in the open sea, providing easy and secure access for large cargo ships.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran in May 2016, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement to establish the International Transport and Transit Corridor (Chabahar Agreement). India is participating in the development of the first phase of the Shahid Beheshti Terminal at the port along with the Iran government .
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India has so far supplied six mobile harbour cranes and other equipment worth $25 million.
An Indian company, India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL), through its wholly owned subsidiary India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), took over the operations of the Chabahar port from December 24, 2018.
Since then, it has handled more than 90,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of container traffic and more than 8.4 MMT (million metric tons) of bulk and general cargo.
The port has also facilitated the supply of humanitarian assistance, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Till date, a total of 2.5 million tons of wheat and 2000 tons of pulses have been trans-shipped from India to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port. In 2021, India supplied 40,000 litres of an environment-friendly pesticide to Iran to fight a locust menace through the port.
