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India announces that the US has granted a six-month waiver from sanctions for operating Iran’s Chabahar Port, a move that supports New Delhi’s efforts to strengthen trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian nations, sidestepping Pakistan. Last year, India committed to a decade-long partnership with Iran to develop and manage the port. This month, India furthered its relations with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan by reopening its embassy in Kabul, which had been closed since the Taliban took over in 2021 after NATO forces withdrew.
The port, located on Iran’s southeastern Gulf of Oman coast, was initially envisioned with a rail connection to Afghanistan, intended to bolster the landlocked country’s economy through trade and lessen its reliance on the Pakistani port of Karachi. The recent waiver follows US President Donald Trump’s indication that he is interested in negotiating a trade agreement with India, signaling a potential thaw from the tense relations that reached their lowest point after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50% as punishment for India’s Russian oil purchases.
Following US sanctions on Moscow’s leading crude exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, Indian refiners are reducing their Russian oil imports. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed, “We have received a six-month exemption for the port,” and added that India remains engaged in trade negotiations with the Trump administration.
The US had previously revoked the original sanctions waiver for Chabahar, granted in 2018, aiming to apply “maximum pressure” on Iran due to its nuclear and missile programs. An Indian official, speaking anonymously, said the waiver took effect Wednesday. The US embassy in New Delhi did not immediately comment.
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