US revokes sanctions waiver linked to Iran's Chabahar Port. Setback for India?
India eyes the Chabahar Port as an important project in context of regional trade and connectivity initiatives.
The US has decided to revoke the sanctions exception linked to Iran's Chabahar Port issued in 2018. With this, individuals linked to operations at the port would be exposed to sanctions under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (IFCA), the US Department of State said in a release.
The revocation of the sanctions waiver will be effective from September 29.
The move stands to impact India's plans to develop the port. An Indian-state run company is engaged in the development of a terminal at the Chabahar port, and India eyes the port as an important project in context of regional trade and connectivity initiatives.
The US administration said that the move to revoke sanctions exception was in line with President Donald Trump's “maximum pressure policy” against the Iranian regime. “Once the revocation is effective, persons who operate the Chabahar Port or engage in other activities described in IFCA may expose themselves to sanctions under IFCA,” the US State Department's release read.
In May this year, India and Iran signed a 10-year agreement linked to the Chabahar Port operations as part of which New Delhi offered a credit window worth $250 million for infrastructure development at the port in the Gulf of Oman.
It was earlier reported that the Indian company operating on the Chabahar Port was mulling expanding its capacity and connecting the port to the Iranian railway network.
Reports said the port’s capacity was being increased to 500,000 TEUs, along with the construction of 700 km of railway tracks connecting Chabahar to Zahedan. Both projects were expected to be completed by mid-2026, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Chabahar Port is an ambitious project helmed by India and Iran. The port also emerged as a vital gateway for India’s regional outreach and humanitarian efforts in the past. In 2023, it was used to send 20,000 tonnes of wheat aid to Afghanistan. Before that in 2021, the port enabled the shipment of environmentally friendly pesticides to Iran.
