Washington Says Closely Examining Iran’s Chabahar Port Contract
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A US State Department official said Washington will closely study the details of India's contribution to a recent deal signed between Tehran, New Delhi and Kabul on development of a port in southeastern Iran for trade access.
"We have been very clear with the Indians (about) continuing restrictions on activities with respect to Iran," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
Her remarks came after a number of US senators questioned on Tuesday whether the Chabahar deal risked violating “international" sanctions against Tehran.
This is while the sanctions against Iran were lifted after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on January 16 started implementing a nuclear agreement they had finalized on June 14, 2015.
"We have to examine the details of the Chabahar announcement to see where it falls in that place," Biswal added, Reuters reported.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday pledged up to $500 million to develop the Iranian port of Chabahar, to try to give his country trade access to Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The deal was signed by the road ministers of the three countries at a ceremony in Tehran on Monday, attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Modi.
The agreement is aimed at bringing about a considerable increase in transit via Chabahar, linking India to central Asia via Afghanistan, and helping Afghanistan have access to the sea.
In 2003, Iran and India agreed to develop the Port of Chabahar.
The project was, however, suspended following the imposition of sanctions against Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.
In May 2014, India and Iran signed an MoU to jointly develop the port once the international sanctions against Iran were terminated.
The Chabahar route will allow Indian goods to reach Afghanistan via Chabahar without crossing Pakistan’s territory.
Chabahar is located in the Gulf of Oman on the border with Pakistan. It is the closest and best access point of Iran to the Indian Ocean and Iran has devised serious plans to turn it into a transit hub for immediate access to markets in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and Central Asia.
