Chabahar Port

Six-Month U.S. Sanctions Waiver Granted to India

• The United States has granted India a six-month sanctions waiver on operations at Iran’s Chabahar Port.
• This waiver came into effect on October 29.
• The exemption is a turnaround from the U.S. State Department’s decision in September to revoke the previous waiver.
• The waiver allows the supply of essential items like food grains and medical products to Afghanistan to continue through the port.

India’s Strategic Interest and History with Chabahar

• India has been associated with the Chabahar port since 2005, when it first agreed with Iran to develop it.
• In 2015, both sides signed an MoU to jointly develop the Shahid Beheshti Port at Chabahar.
• Chabahar is a deep-water port in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, offering easy and secure access for large cargo ships. It is the closest Iranian port to India.
• The port is a major commercial hub intended to help India access markets in Afghanistan, Central Asian states, and Russia.
• Chabahar is strategically located near the Chinese-developed Gwadar port in Pakistan.
• In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement (the Chabahar Agreement) to establish the International Transport and Transit Corridor.
• An Indian company, India Ports Global Ltd., took over operations of the port from December 24, 2018.
• India has supplied equipment, including six mobile harbour cranes, worth $25 million.
• Since taking over, the port has handled over 90,000 TEUs (container traffic) and over 8.4 million metric tons of cargo.
• The port has been crucial for humanitarian assistance, facilitating the transfer of 2.5 million tons of wheat and 2,000 tons of pulses from India to Afghanistan.

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