The decision by the United States to allow its sanctions waiver on Chabahar Port to lapse places India at a critical policy crossroads regarding its long-standing connectivity project with Iran. Without renewal of the waiver, India must either risk sanctions by continuing the project or withdraw from a strategic investment estimated at about $620 million. India’s involvement in the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar dates back to a memorandum of understanding signed in 2003 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but progress has repeatedly been slowed by U.S. pressure linked to concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme.
Subsequent governments continued engagement with the project, including construction of the Zaranj-Delaram highway connecting Afghanistan to Iran. After the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan further advanced connectivity plans through Chabahar. However, renewed sanctions following U.S. withdrawal from the agreement again disrupted progress. Although the United States earlier permitted a special exemption for Chabahar to facilitate humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan, that exemption has now ended.
India has already begun reducing its operational presence at the port and is considering transferring its stake in the Shahid Beheshti terminal to an Iranian company while retaining the option of future re-engagement. The conflict in West Asia has further complicated the prospects for immediate revival of the project.
The passage argues that abandoning Chabahar could undermine India’s broader connectivity ambitions with Central Asia and Afghanistan and weaken its strategic autonomy in foreign policy. It also suggests that continued external pressure on India’s energy and trade partnerships with countries such as Iran, Venezuela and Russia highlights the broader challenge of maintaining an independent foreign policy amid shifting global dynamics.
Q1. What is the primary issue discussed in the passage?
A. Expansion of India’s maritime trade routes in Southeast Asia
B. India’s strategic dilemma following the lapse of the U.S. sanctions waiver on Chabahar Port
C. Development of India’s domestic port infrastructure
D. Withdrawal of India from Central Asian trade agreements
