- Iran urges India to advance Chabahar Port project development.
- India’s Chabahar operations face U.S. sanctions after waiver expired.
- Iran, Oman devising mechanism for smooth Strait of Hormuz passage.
Kazem Gharibabadi, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, stated on Wednesday that Tehran is eager for India to achieve meaningful and substantial progress in the Chabahar Port project. This comes as the U.S. sanctions waiver for India’s operations at the port officially expired on April 26, 2026, which means that New Delhi’s 10-year development agreement with Iran no longer has formal legal protection against American secondary penalties.
“This project (Chabahar Port) is very important to both India as well as to Iran. It depends on India how they will deal with the project now that the US waiver has expired. Actually, even after getting the waiver on sanctions from the United States, India has not been able to make much progress in Chabahar,” Gharibabadi said Wednesday while addressing a press meet in New Delhi.
The U.S. State Department initially revoked India’s long-standing 2018 sanctions exception in September 2025. Following intense diplomatic engagement by New Delhi, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a conditional letter on October 28, 2025, extending protection for an additional six months.
As a result of the sanctions, India has paused active expansion work and Phase 2 project development to avoid exposing Indian entities like India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) to immediate U.S. sanctions. Technical personnel were reportedly withdrawn ahead of the deadline.
India and Iran signed a 10-year contract in May 2024 to develop and operate the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar Port, crucial for India to bypass Pakistan and connect to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Despite U.S. sanctions challenges and a temporary 6-month waiver, India has heavily invested and maintained its involvement in this strategic project as of early 2026.
Earlier, in an interview to ABP Live, Mohammad Fathali, Ambassador of Iran to New Delhi, had said, if India takes the Chabahar Port project forward then it will bring economic benefit not only to the both countries but also for the entire region.
Located on Iran’s southeastern coast, Chabahar provides India direct maritime access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan.
‘Mechanism’ Under Works On Strait Of Hormuz
The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister also said, Tehran is willing to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz provided the United States lifts its naval blockade from that region. He said Iran is working out a “mechanism” in cooperation with Oman to bring about “certain protocols” in order for a smooth passage of ships and containers in the contention strait that has taken centre-stage in the ongoing tensions between Tehran and Washington.
He said Iran is partnering with Oman to finalize a logistics protocol for merchant vessels.
“Ships will be charged a “service fee” for navigation and rescue services,” Gharibabadi said, adding, “This will be done in accordance with international maritime law. This is not going to be a transit toll.”
Calling India a “friendly country”, Gharibabadi revealed that Iran has exclusively allowed 11 Indian vessels to safely pass through the blocked strait. He also said that Iranian authorities are working to permit additional Indian ships to return home, which is a special provision that has not been extended to other nations.
Iran has rejected a U.S.-backed UN Security Council draft resolution on freedom of navigation, calling it biased and politically flawed. It has also condemned the deployment of British and French warships to the region, asserting that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is the sole right and responsibility of Iran.
