‘Shouldn’t take a narrow view of it’: Jaishankar reacts to US sanction warning over Chabahar Port deal

Jaishankar emphasized that the project will benefit the entire region and people should not take a "narrow view" of it

May 15, 2024

EAM Jaishankar responds to US sanction alert on Chabahar Port agreement

A day after the US warned of the “potential risk of sanctions“, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the Chabahar Port in Iran will benefit the entire region and that people should avoid taking a “narrow view” of it.

He also pointed out that the US itself had appreciated the larger relevance of Chabahar in the past.

After India inked a 10-year agreement for running the Chabahar Port in Iran, the US warned of sanctions.

On being asked about the US’ remarks, Jaishankar said, “I did see some of the remarks which were made, but I think it’s a question of communicating, convincing, and getting people to understand, that this is actually for everyone’s benefit. I don’t think people should take a narrow view of it.”

“They (US) have not done so in the past. So, if you look at the US’ own attitude towards the port in Chabahar, the US has been appreciative of the fact that Chabahar has a larger relevance…we will work at it,” he added.

The EAM was speaking at an interaction after the launch of the Bangla edition of his book ‘Why Bharat Matters‘ in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Jaishankar further said that India had a long association with the project, but was not able to sign a long-term pact, which was important. He added that New Delhi was able to sort out the issues and sign the long-term agreement, which will benefit the entire region.

“We have had a long association with the Chabahar Port, but we could never sign a long-term agreement. The reason was…there were various problems on the Iranian end…the joint-venture partner changes, the condition changed,” the Foreign Minister said.

He added, “Finally, we were able to sort this out and we were able to get the long-term agreement done. The long-term agreement is necessary because without it you cannot really improve the port operation. And the port operation we believe, will benefit the entire region.”

Earlier, Deputy spokesperson of the US Department of State Vedant Patel told the media, “We’re aware of these reports that Iran and India have signed a deal concerning the Chabahar port. I will let the government of India speak to its own foreign policy goals vis-a-vis the Chabahar port as well as its own bilateral relationship with Iran. I will just say, as it relates to the United States, US sanctions on Iran remain in place and we will continue to enforce them.”

He added that “anyone considering business deals with Iran, they need to be aware of the potential risk that they are opening themselves up to and the potential risk of sanctions”.

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