Iran: Multi-national projects in Chabahar undeterred by US sanctions

Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Director General of South Asia Department said on Sunday that a US announcement earlier this week that it would end the sanctions waiver granted to Chabahar is an illegal attempt to prevent other countries from contributing to development works in the port.

Mohammad Reza Bahrami told the official IRNA news agency that Chabahar, located in southeast Iran, is a symbol of South-South cooperation between Iran and other countries to facilitate trade and transit in the region.

“It is obvious that the Islamic Republic of Iran and its economic and trade partners will continue to cooperate to advance the development project in Chabahar without paying attention to illogical and anti-development interventions of the US,” Bahrami said.

The remarks came two days after the US State Department said it had revoked the 2018 sanctions exception that covered development projects in Chabahar, with officials in the department saying the decision would be effective September 29, 2025.

Iran has introduced some mega projects to develop Chabahar to turn it into a major economic and trade hub on the Sea of Oman.

The port is currently home to Iran’s only ocean port, which connects the Indian Ocean to Afghanistan and other landlocked countries in the Central Asia region.

It is also a part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multi-modal transportation project linking waters in the south of Iran to the Caspian Sea, and onward to northern Europe via Russia.

India has been a major partner to development projects in the port of Shahid Beheshti in Chabahar based on an agreement reached between the two countries in 2003.

Indian authorities view the port as a key trade link to Afghanistan and as a rival to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, which is being developed by China./isna