Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has urged New Delhi to stay invested in Chabahar Port, framing the project as a strategic anchor of India-Iran ties at a time when US sanctions have slowed work and raised fresh uncertainty around long-term financing.
Speaking in New Delhi after attending the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Araghchi said Tehran hoped India would continue its role in developing the port on Iran’s south-eastern coast. He described Chabahar as a “very strategic” project and a “major symbol of cooperation” between the two countries, while acknowledging that sanctions pressure from Washington had affected the pace of implementation.
Chabahar’s Shahid Beheshti terminal is central to India’s connectivity plans with Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia. Located on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz, the port gives New Delhi a route to Eurasian markets that bypasses Pakistan. For Iran, the project strengthens its position as a transit hub and offers a channel for economic engagement despite restrictions on its financial and energy sectors.
Araghchi’s remarks come nearly two years after India and Iran signed a 10-year agreement for the operation of the Shahid Beheshti terminal. The deal, concluded in May 2024, replaced a series of short-term arrangements and gave India Ports Global Limited a longer horizon to operate and equip the facility. New Delhi had also committed grant assistance of $120 million for equipment and a credit line of $250 million for port-related development.
The project has, however, remained exposed to the wider confrontation between Tehran and Washington. The United States had earlier allowed limited sanctions relief for Chabahar, citing the port’s role in supporting Afghanistan’s access to trade and humanitarian supplies. That exception has become less predictable under tightened US policy towards Iran, creating compliance concerns for banks, shipping firms, insurers and contractors involved in the port’s operations.
New Delhi has sought to separate Chabahar from the broader sanctions dispute by arguing that the port serves regional connectivity, trade diversification and humanitarian access. Officials have also viewed the project as a counterweight to rival infrastructure networks in the region, including China-backed routes through Pakistan. The port is linked to the wider International North-South Transport Corridor, a multimodal network designed to connect India with Iran, the Caspian region, Russia and Europe through sea, rail and road routes.
The latest appeal from Tehran also reflects a shift in regional trade pressures. Afghanistan’s rulers have pushed for expanded use of Chabahar as border tensions and trade disruptions with Pakistan have complicated traditional transit routes. Traders handling dry fruits, pharmaceuticals, food items and construction materials have looked for alternatives that reduce dependence on land corridors vulnerable to political closures.
For India, the strategic logic remains strong, but the operating environment has become more complex. Any substantial acceleration at Chabahar would require financing, equipment procurement, shipping connectivity and private-sector participation. Each of these areas is vulnerable to sanctions risk. Companies with exposure to the US financial system are likely to remain cautious unless there is clearer protection from penalties.
The BRICS meeting in New Delhi added a wider geopolitical layer to Araghchi’s visit. The gathering exposed divisions within the expanded grouping over West Asia, with differences between Iran and the UAE contributing to the absence of a consensus joint statement. India, chairing the meeting, issued a chair’s statement instead, underscoring the difficulty of managing a bloc that now includes several powers with competing security interests.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Araghchi during the visit, with regional security, connectivity and economic cooperation expected to have figured in the discussions. New Delhi has had to balance its long-standing ties with Tehran against deepening strategic and energy partnerships with Gulf states and the United States. That balance has become sharper as instability in West Asia affects oil flows, shipping routes and diplomatic alignments.
