New Delhi: India on Monday said that the Chabahar port in Iran has showcased ‘strong potential’ for increasing connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia in recent years.
India’s response comes six days after the Trump administration issued an order casting doubt on the continuing waiver of sanctions on the strategic Iranian port, The Wire reported.
President Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum on February 4 to bring about ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran aiming that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.
A provision in the memo states that the US secretary of state ‘shall modify or rescind sanctions waivers, particularly those that provide Iran any degree of economic or financial relief, including those related to Iran’s Chabahar port project’.
The US move against Iran comes as India spent millions of dollars for developing the Chabahar port seeing it as a crucial trade route to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan alongside being a foothold for the country in the region.
In his first term, President Trump granted a “narrow waiver” for Chabahar port amid placing huge sanctions to curb Iran’s crude oil sales.
Though India has not yet reacted to Trump’s order, a senior Ministry of External Affairs official on Monday stressed India’s commitment to the port.
MEA Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar told an event for Iran’s national day that ‘In the past years, the Chabahar port has proven its strong potential.’
‘The port was conceptualised to provide much-needed alternate connectivity to Afghanistan for its reconstruction and economic development and to boost economic and trade linkages with Central Asian regions,’ he said.
Referencing Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s ambassador to India, Iraj Elahi said at the event that his country ‘has always been peaceful and follows international rules, with ongoing cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’.