Why Iranian envoy thinks US won’t impose sanctions on India over Chabahar port
Hindustan TimesNEW DELHI: After India and Iran signed a long-term agreement for expanding Indian operations at Chabahar port, the US warned that all entities engaging in business deals with Iran face the “potential risk of sanctions”. Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi said the importance of India would prevent any side from imposing sanctions on India over the Chabahar port deal Responding to the position adopted by the US, Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi said on Tuesday that the “importance of India” will prevent any country from imposing sanctions on India over its cooperation with Iran. Asked at a regular media briefing at the US state department about the India-Iran agreement on Chabahar, deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said American sanctions on Iran “remain in place and we’ll continue to enforce them”. He responded to a specific question on whether there was an exemption for the new India-Iran agreement by saying: “No.” Iranian ambassador Elahi responded to Patel’s remarks: “I think the importance of India prevents any side from imposing sanctions on India regarding the cooperation between India and Iran on Chabahar.” Elahi added, “Besides this, the Chabahar project is not just for the benefit of Iran or India.