The United States has granted a six-month waiver from sanctions on India's Chabahar port project in Iran, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "For Chabahar port in Iran, we have been granted exemption for a six-month period from the US sanctions."
Jaiswal also said that India is studying the implications of US sanctions on Russian oil companies.
"We are studying the implications of the recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies. Our decisions naturally take into account the evolving dynamics of the global market," he said.
"Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known. In this endeavour, we are guided by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people," Jaiswal added.
Jaiswal also referred to the ongoing trade negotiations with the US.
"We continue to remain engaged with the US side to conclude a trade deal, and these discussions are continuing..." he said.
The US administration had last month revoked the sanction exemption for the Chabahar Port, raising concerns about the future of India’s key strategic connectivity project to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The waiver originally granted in 2018 under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (IFCA), had allowed India and others to work on the port without facing the threat of American sanctions. It was seen as a vital exception for India’s effort to bypass Pakistan and establish alternative trade and transit routes to landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The Chabahar Port, situated on the Gulf of Oman, has handled more than 8 million tonnes of cargo since India took operational control of its Shahid Beheshti terminal through India Ports Global Limited. It has also served as a lifeline for delivering humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, especially after the Taliban takeover during critical times.