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Informist, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – India is engaged in negotiations with the US over operating Iran's Chabahar Port, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday amid media reports that India is winding up its operations from the critical port before the Apr. 26, 2026 deadline given by the US expires.

 

The US reimposed sanctions on the Chabahar port from Sept. 29, but the Office of Foreign Assets Control under the US Department of the Treasury granted India a six-month exemption from the sanctions.

 

"On Oct. 28, 2025, the US Treasury Department issued a letter outlining conditional sanctions waiver to us, which is valid till Apr. 26, 2026," Randhir Jaiswal spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said Friday. "We are engaged with the US side in working out this arrangement."

 

The spokesperson did not elaborate on what conditions India got the limited-time exemption despite a pointed query whether India is planning to exit the Chabahar project.

 

A report in The Economic Times on Thursday claimed that the exemption by US was based on details provided by India on how it planned to "wind down all activities at the Port of Chabahar, including at the Shahid Beheshti terminal or any other related facilities".

 

Chabahar provides India a crucial, direct maritime link to Afghanistan and Central Asia, allowing it to bypass Pakistan and counter China's Belt and Road Initiative.

 

However, US President Donald Trump's increasingly hardening stance on Iran and his fresh threat of imposing 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran has cast a shadow over India's engagement with the West Asian nation.

 

On the question of the future of India-Iran relations in view of tariff threats, Jaiswal said, "We have longstanding relationship with Iran. We are keeping an eye on the developments, and we will take forward our relationship accordingly."

 

In the last financial year, the overall bilateral trade with Iran was $1.6 billion, of which India's exports to Iran were worth $1.2 billion. "Iran accounts for just 0.15% of India's total trade," Jaiswal said.

 

On the possible evacuation of Indians from violence-torn Iran, Jaiswal said the Indian government and the Indian embassy have issued a number of advisories to Indian nationals to leave Iran by any means available to them, including commercial flights, but the government of India will do "whatever will be needed" for its citizens.

 

He said there are 9,000 Indians living in Iran, most of them students, pilgrims, and businessmen, and that the Indian embassy is in contact with Indian nationals through various ways. "There is some problem but we are in touch with our citizens," Jaiswal said.  End

 

Reported by Asim Khan

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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