India hopes to open Iran’s Chabahar port by 2019

The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan

India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019, the government said in a statement on Friday, despite a threat of renewed US sanctions against Tehran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, center, speaks during the inauguration a newly built extension of the port of Chabahar, near the Pakistani border, on the Gulf of Oman, southeastern Iran. (AP File Photo)

The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan that could potentially open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut its dependence on Pakistan, its sometimes-hostile neighbour.

The port would offer easy accessibility to CIS countries, Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said in the statement.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear deal and penalize financial institutions for doing business with Tehran is clouding Chabahar’s viability.