India secures six-month US waiver to run Chabahar Port
India confirmed on Thursday that the United States had granted it a six-month sanctions waiver to operate Iran’s Chabahar Port, a move that will help New Delhi bolster trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia.
“I can confirm that we have been granted an exemption for a six-month period,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly news briefing, referring to the port, Reuters reported.
He added that New Delhi remained engaged with the US on a bilateral trade agreement. “We continue to remain engaged with the US side on finalizing the trade deal. Both sides are continuing to hold discussions. For any further update, I would refer you to the Ministry of Commerce,” Jaiswal said.
The announcement follows Washington’s decision in September to revoke a sanctions waiver that had allowed India to operate the Chabahar Port since 2018. The White House said on September 18 the exemption would end on September 29, a move that had threatened India’s multimillion-dollar investment in the strategic southeastern Iranian port and exposed anyone involved in its operation to possible sanctions.
The waiver followed word by US President Donald Trump this week that he wanted to reach a trade deal with India, signaling a thaw in relations that soured to their lowest point in decades after he doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50% as punishment for Indian purchases of Russian oil.
India has already provided equipment worth $25 million, shipped food supplies through Iran’s Chabahar Port. The country signed a 10-year agreement with Iran in May 2024 to develop and operate the port, pledging $120 million in investment and offering an additional $250 million credit line for infrastructure upgrades.
The port was initially planned with a rail link to Afghanistan for building the landlocked country's economy through trade and reducing Kabul's dependence on the Pakistani port of Karachi.
This month India stepped up engagement with Afghanistan by reopening its embassy in Kabul, which had been closed after the Taliban seized power in 2021.
An Indian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US waiver took effect on Wednesday. The US embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the report by Reuters added.
Iran has long slammed Washington’s use of sanctions, with officials in Tehran describing the approach as an “addiction” since the 1979 Islamic Revolution by repeatedly targeting various Iranian entities under shifting pretexts.