New Delhi: In a relief for India, the Donald Trump administration has granted a six-month exemption from US sanctions on the Chabahar port in Iran.
“For Chabahar port in Iran, we have been granted exemption for a six-month period on the US sanctions,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday.
The temporary exemption to India comes a month after sanctions on the Chabahar Port project came into effect on September 29.
The sanctions on Chabahar Port were part of President Trump’s measures to put pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme, and followed reimposition of wider United Nations sanctions on the Islamic nation.
Unfortunately, the move affected India.
The US latest decision will allow India to continue its engagement in the strategically located port project, which is an important trade and connectivity route to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan.
In his first term as US President, Trump had made an exception for New Delhi in 2018 and granted a waiver that allowed Indian companies to continue operations at Chabahar despite broader US sanctions on Iran.
It had allowed India to operate and invest in the key area without inviting penalties under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (IFCA).
However, changed regional dynamics compelled Washington to withdraw the waiver a month ago.
It remains to be seen if India can convince the US to extend the exemption beyond the six months that they have agreed to now.
