India speeds up Chabahar port development with US sanctions waiver on Iran
On Thursday, October 29, India announced that the United States has granted it a six-month waiver from sanctions to operate Iran’s Chabahar port, which boosts New Delhi’s efforts to increase trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries by bypassing its rival, Pakistan.
According to Reuters, last year India signed a 10-year agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop and operate this port, and this month it expanded its relations with Afghanistan by reopening its embassy in Kabul, which had been closed after the Taliban came to power in 2021.
This waiver comes after US President Donald Trump expressed his desire to reach a trade agreement with India, indicating warming relations that had reached their lowest level in decades after India doubled its import tariffs to 50% as punishment for buying Russian oil.
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, confirmed this waiver in a weekly press conference, stating, ‘I can confirm that we have been granted a waiver for a six-month period.’