WASHINGTON: The US has announced an “exception” from certain sanctions for the Iranian port of Chabahar that India has developed and used for reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
REUTERS FILE■ A speed boat passes by oil docks at the Chabahar port.
This exemption is in addition to temporary waivers from sanctions that the US announced for India and seven other countries that are major importers of Iranian crude oil on Monday, when the second and final round of sanctions went into effect.
“After extensive consideration, the secretary (of state) has provided for an exception from the imposition of certain sanctions,” a state department spokesperson said in a statement issued on Tuesday, “with respect to the development of Chabahar port and the construction of an associated railway and for the shipment of non-sanctionable goods through the port for Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan’s imports of Iranian petroleum products were also being exempted from sanctions, the spokesperson said.
The exemptions were linked to the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, to which India has been a key contributor, a role that was recognised and reinforced by President Donald Trump in the South Asia strategy he announced in August last year. The strategy had earmarked an expanded role for India.
The spokesperson cited the strategy to say it “underscores our ongoing support of Afghanistan’s economic growth and development as well as our close partnership with India”.
The US seeks to “build on our close relationships with both countries as we execute a policy of maximum pressure to change the Iranian regime’s destabilising policies in the region”.