The port of Chabahar in southeastern Iran is strategically very valuable. Chabahar is part of the North-South International Transport Corridor that connects India to Eurasia and is also important for improving connections between South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia. (Photo quoted from Yahoo’s image)
India is one of the key stakeholders in the development of the strategic port of Chabahar. A trilateral agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran to establish an international north-south transit corridor was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tehran in 2016.
Since then, important steps have been taken to develop the port. But US sanctions against Iran have generally delayed the investment and development of the Chabahar port.
However, following the withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the start of new sanctions against Iran, a combination of reasons such as the Afghanistan’s need to Chabahar, the Indian negotiations with the White House, exempted the port of Chabahar from the U.S. sanctions.
Thus, the capacity of Iran's only ocean port increased to 8.5 million tons. However, growing the U.S. tensions with Iran and the imposition of severe economic sanctions on Iran have negatively affected New Delhi's ability to meet its obligations in Chabahar.
In fact, New Delhi's approach to Chabahar is linked to the United States. In fact, although India's cooperation with Iran in this port has not been subject to the U.S. sanctions, Delhi's fears over the development of the Chabahar port appear to remain.
Indian officials have blamed US sanctions for the delay in investing in the Chabahar-Zahedan railway. In fact, New Delhi officials' skepticism about the possible consequences has prevented the Indians from taking effective action.
Even now, India has pledged $ 1.5 billion to build a series of roads and railways in southeastern Iran. But to dispel these doubts, India, with the victory of Joe Biden, is waiting for the revival of the JCPOA nuclear deal to join the projects in the next stages.
What is clear is that the geopolitics of the Chabahar seas is extremely important for Indo-Chinese and American-Chinese rivalries in Asia and the Indian Ocean. In this regard, the strategic port of Chabahar is the main point in this competition and access to Chabahar is part of India's strategy to monitor China's movement in the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East.
In the meantime, the United States must make a strategic choice if it wants to strengthen India vis-a-vis China and provide more favorable conditions for India's presence in Chabahar.
In another dimension, in 2020, Iran started the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway, leaving India aside. At the same time, if Iran's extensive strategic partnership with China ($ 400 billion agreement) is implemented and China finds a place in the development of the Chabahar port, it can practically help balance the power in China's favor in the Indian Ocean region.
In fact, more new cooperation between Iran, China, Pakistan and Russia may not be in the interests of India and the United States. Therefore, Washington must make a careful choice: more support for India's presence in Chabahar or more Chinese acceptance in the region.
In addition, the political, economic, trade and investment ties between India and Iran, and Afghanistan's greater maritime access to Chabahar could be in the U.S. interests and provide stronger cooperation in the Indian Ocean. India's presence in Chabahar will put the country’s power equation ahead of Pakistan and China.
As the strategic rivalry between China and the United States escalates (along with the strategic relationship between India and the United States), the presence of China's economic fleet and navy in Gwadar creates a new situation. In the meantime, the United States should continue to look to Chabahar to support India in this port, in order to reduce Gwadar's position.
Farzad Ramezani Bonesh
Senior Researcher and Analyst of International Affairs
