US grants India six-month sanctions waiver to run Iran's Chabahar port, says New Delhi

The United States has granted India a six-month waiver from sanctions to continue operating Iran's Chabahar Port, according to Indian officials. This exemption is seen as a significant move to enhance regional trade connectivity, allowing India to strengthen its economic ties with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries by bypassing Pakistan. India had previously signed a 10-year contract with Iran to develop and operate the port, aiming to boost the landlocked Afghan economy via trade routes that do not rely on Pakistan’s Karachi port. In recent developments, India has also reopened its embassy in Kabul, which had been shut down after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces. This reopening signals a warming of diplomatic relations with the Taliban-led government and aligns with India’s broader strategy to deepen engagement with Afghanistan. The Chabahar Port, situated on Iran’s southeastern coast along the Gulf of Oman, is strategically important because it links sea routes to landlocked Afghanistan through planned rail connections. The six-month waiver comes after a period of tension between India and the US, which had revoked the sanctions waiver last month in an attempt to exert "maximum pressure" on Iran over concerns about its nuclear and missile programs. However, President Donald Trump recently expressed interest in forging a trade agreement with India, indicating a possible thaw in relations that had been strained when Trump doubled tariffs on Indian imports in retaliation for India's continued purchase of Russian oil. Indian refiners have begun reducing their imports of Russian oil following new US sanctions on Russian crude exporters Rosneft and Lukoil. Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed the six-month exemption in a news briefing, underscoring that talks with the US administration on a bilateral trade deal are ongoing. Although the US embassy in New Delhi has yet to comment officially, the waiver is expected to facilitate continued operations at Chabahar, reinforcing India’s strategic interests in the region. Overall, the waiver supports India’s ambition to develop a trade corridor that not only strengthens its economic outreach towards Central Asia and Afghanistan but also strategically counters Pakistan’s influence in the region. The ongoing diplomatic engagement with the Taliban government and reduction of Russian oil imports also reflect India’s nuanced balancing act between maintaining US relations and pursuing its regional economic and geopolitical goals.