According to Press TV, the director of the South Asian Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran said on Sunday that it would end the US announcement earlier this week ending the sanctions exemption granted to Chabahar.
Mohammad Reza Balami said Chabahar, located in southeastern Iran, is a symbol of the North-South cooperation between Iran and other countries, and will promote trade and transport in the region.
“It is clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran and its economic and trade partners will continue to work together to advance the Chabahar development project without paying attention to US illogical and anti-development interventions,” Balami said.
The statement comes two days after the US State Department said it had revoked an exception to the 2018 sanctions covering Chabahar’s development projects.
Iran has introduced several megaprojects to develop Chabahar, turning it into a major economic and trade hub in the Sea of Oman.
Currently, the port is Iran’s only oceanic port connecting the Indian Ocean to Afghanistan and other inland countries in the Central Asia region.
It is also a multimodal transport project connecting Iran’s southern waters to the Caspian Sea, and is part of the International North-North Transport Corridor (INSC) through Russia towards Northern Europe.
India has become a major partner in the development project at Shahid Beshti Port in Shabahar, based on an agreement reached between the two countries in 2003.
Indian authorities view the port as a major trade link to Afghanistan and a rival to Pakistan’s Gwadar port, which is being developed by China.
MNA