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

The United States has granted India a six-month waiver from sanctions to operate Iran’s Chabahar port, India said on Thursday, boosting New Delhi’s efforts to expand trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries while bypassing rival Pakistan.

India signed a 10-year contract with Iran last year to develop and operate the port. Earlier this month, it also deepened ties with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan by reopening its embassy in Kabul, which had been closed since the Islamist group seized power in 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces.

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The port, located on Iran’s southeastern coast in the Gulf of Oman, was originally planned with a rail link to Afghanistan with the aim of boosting the landlocked country’s economy through trade and reducing Kabul’s dependence on the Pakistani port of Karachi.

The resignation announcement followed comments this week by US President Donald Trump that he wanted to pursue a trade deal with India – signaling a thaw in relations that had hit their lowest point in decades after he doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50% in response to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.

Indian refiners are now cutting imports of Russian oil after Washington imposed sanctions last week on Moscow’s top crude exporters Rosneft and Lukoil.

“I can confirm that we have been granted an exemption for a period of six months,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Radhir Jaiswal told a weekly news briefing, referring to the port. He added that India is continuing talks with the Trump administration on a bilateral trade deal.

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Washington had revoked the Chabahar sanctions waiver last month – first granted in 2018 – as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, aimed at countering the Islamic Republic’s destabilizing activities and support for its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

An Indian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the exemption from US sanctions took effect on Wednesday. The US embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.