India-Iran Chabahar Port Agreemen; Jaishankar view US involvement in the deal?
India-Iran Chabahar Port Agreement
The US threatens India with possible trade sanctions over a trade deal with India-Iran Chabahar Port Agreement
The warning comes at a time when India has signed an agreement with Tehran to operate a port in the coastal city of Chabahar for 10 years.
However, now after the talk of restrictions on trade with Iran by the United States, India’s reaction has come to light.
India has urged the US not to take a ‘narrow view’ on the port deal with Iran.
India signed an agreement in 2016 for the construction of the Chabahar Port of regional importance. This port is located near the border of Pakistan with Iran.
On Monday, India and Iran signed a long-term agreement to operate the port.
Although Indian officials termed the deal a “historic moment” in relations between India and Iran, the US is not happy about it.
But Delhi has backed the move and said the deal would benefit the region.
“I think it’s a question of communicating, persuading and convincing people that it’s actually for everyone’s benefit,” Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told reporters on Tuesday “I don’t think people should be narrow-minded about it,” he was responding to a question about Washington’s comments on the deal.
The US has imposed more than 600 trade sanctions on Iran-related companies and institutions over the past three years.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vidant Patel was asked about the deal and said that US sanctions on Iran are still in place and Washington will continue to enforce them.
He said that any organization or company that wants to do business with Iran should be aware of its potential risks and possible trade restrictions.
It should be noted that India took control of this port in late 2018.
Some observers believe that India is developing a section of the Chabahar port on Iran’s southeastern coast to bypass the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan and send its merchandise to Iran, Central Asian countries, and Afghanistan through Chabahar. Exporting
Historic Moment
Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazarpash and Indian Shipping Minister Sarbanda Sonowal signed the agreement in Tehran, Iran.
According to Mehrdad Bazarpash, India and Russia were presented the ‘Map of the Iran Road Project’ during the tripartite meeting in Tehran last year.
He said that through the Chabahar project and Iran’s road-rail network, India can access Afghanistan and Central Asia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Syria from Chabahar.
Along with this, Bazarpash also announced the establishment of a joint shipping company between India and Iran.
Sarbanda Sonowal posted pictures of the agreement on X, calling it a “historic moment” for the two countries’ relations and the region.
He wrote that ‘this agreement will not only strengthen the relationship between the two countries, but it is also very important for India to gain a foothold in the global supply chain and maritime sector.’
They see the deal as part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trade plans to create an alternative trade route to Iran, Afghanistan, Eurasia, and Central Asian countries.
According to Iranian media reports, to modernize the Chabahar port, India will “invest over $120 million in the supply of strategic equipment as well as over $250 million in its transportation infrastructure.”
Shahid Behishti Port was built as the second most important port in Chabahar in 1983 due to the need for a port outside the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War.
Mehrdad Bazarpash also described this agreement as “very important for increasing business relations between the two countries”.
He said that the agreement signed today is proof that Chabahar will become the center of Iran’s development and the operation of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway section (which will be completed by the end of this year). will increase in value.
Earlier, India’s foreign minister had said that India wants to enter into a ‘long-term agreement’ with Iran regarding the management of Chabahar port.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, S Jaishankar said that as soon as a long-term agreement is reached, the way will be opened for major investment in Chabahar port.
Indian Ambassador to Iran Rudra Gaurav Shrest also met the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development and CEO of Iran Ports and Maritime Organization yesterday and during his visit to Chabahar Port, he said that India is committed to the development of Chabahar. Sticks to his promises.
He said that the establishment of “modern equipment” in Chabahar would soon begin a “new chapter of cooperation between New Delhi and Tehran
Although US sanctions have slowed down the process, some of these restrictions have been lifted on ‘humanitarian grounds’ in recent years.
Review of contract history
In 2014, despite warnings from a senior US official, India, and Iran signed a new memorandum to develop the Chabahar port.
In 2016, Iran, India, and Afghanistan signed the Chabahar Tripartite Agreement, under which Afghanistan and India can trade through the port.
In November 2018, some products exported from Chabahar port were exempted from US sanctions, including the export of petroleum products from Iran to Afghanistan. At that time, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that this decision was made to keep the communication channel open for the development of Afghanistan and for sending humanitarian aid from Iran.
In February 2019, for the first time, trucks carrying export goods from Afghanistan to India left for Chabahar.
In February 2024, a delegation of the Taliban government visited Chabahar port, and after that, Iran’s special representative for Afghan affairs, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, announced that the Taliban government was going to invest $35 million in the port.
