India supports the Iran Port Deal even after the U. S. has warned against it
- Posted on May 15, 2024
- News
- By Arijit Dutta
- 172 Views
India defended its 10-year, $370 million deal to develop Iran's Chabahar port, dismissing U.S. cautions about potential sanctions risks, asserting the project will benefit the entire region.
India's foreign minister S. Jaishankar has given the country's decision to sign a 10-year deal with Iran to develop the strategically important Chabahar port a day after the United States warned that such business dealings with Tehran risk sanctions.
On Monday, the Indian government sealed a deal worth about $370 million to take over the management of a section of the Iranian port. The deal is to create a trade route to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries all the while avoiding Pakistan.
Nevertheless, the U. S. quickly warned that any countries that will do business with Iran "should know that the sanctions can be a problem" for them.
The U. S. has been asked by Jaishankar on Tuesday not to think too narrowly about the port project, as it will be advantageous to the whole region. He remarked that the U. S. administrations of the past had recognized the larger importance of Chabahar.
"I don't believe that people should be limited to only one aspect of it," Jaishankar said to the reporters in New Delhi. The port operation, in our opinion, will be a benefit for the whole area.
Thus, till now, India has been using the Chabahar to transport 2. 5 million tonnes of wheat and 2,000 tonnes of pulses have been sent to Afghanistan since the operations began in 2018.
The U. S. currently has hundreds of sanctions in place against Iranian entities whereas the two nations are in a crisis. On Tuesday, the deputy spokesperson of the State Department, Vedant Patel, again emphasized the U. S's stand, saying that it would keep on imposing its economic sanctions.
India, on the other hand, has kept its pragmatic relations with Iran, the country that is a part of the region, and is, therefore, trying to get its regional connectivity even though the U. S. pressures. The port project enables India to go for the trade interests in Central Asia and at the same time, it helps to bypass the routes through Pakistan.