India and Iran have realigned relations with Talibans in recent months
By Girish Linganna
India is working to revive the long-delayed Chabahar port project in Iran. On May 13, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) and Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization signed a 10-year agreement. This deal allows India to develop and operate the Chabahar port. IPGL will invest around $120 million, with an additional $250 million in financing, making the total value of the contract $370 million.
The “Chabahar Agreement” to create a transport and transit route connecting India, Afghanistan, and Iran dates back to May 2016.The agreement aimed to use the port to move goods and passengers between India, Afghanistan, and Iran. It also hoped to attract goods and passengers from other countries. Iran's President at the time, Hassan Rouhani, launched the first phase of the Chabahar Port in December 2017. IPGL began managing the port operations at the end of 2018. Since then, it has handled over 90,000 TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) of container traffic and more than 8.4 million tonnes of bulk and general cargo.
In 2018, the Trump administration granted a waiver that excluded Chabahar from U.S. sanctions, allowing the port to be used for supporting Afghan reconstruction efforts. A State Department spokesperson stated that President Donald Trump's “South Asia strategy highlights our continued support for Afghanistan's economic growth and development, along with our strong partnership with India.” reports The Diplomat.
The spokesperson added that this exception is linked to reconstruction aid and economic development for Afghanistan, which are crucial for supporting the country's growth and providing humanitarian relief. In response to the recent agreement, the United States has issued a warning. They indicated that the Indian company IPGL might face sanctions if it proceeds with the investment.
American views on Chabahar have changed since the U.S. left Afghanistan in August 2021. Washington does not plan to recognize the Taliban-led government that took over from the Republic and has applied a strategy of using financial pressure to try to change the Taliban's restrictive policies. Even though this strategy hasn't worked so far, making Chabahar a major trade and transit hub that benefits the Taliban could weaken the chances of the U.S. strategy succeeding.
For India, however, Chabahar offers many advantages. It helps maintain its long-standing relationship with Iran, which had been strained because India stopped importing Iranian oil and their policies on various issues had grown apart. Chabahar is also key to reviving the inactive International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which aims to boost trade between India, Iran, Russia, and several Central and West Asian countries. With the India-Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC) project, which was launched with great excitement in 2023, now almost abandoned due to Israel's war in Gaza, and with free trade agreement talks with the EU and the U.K. stalled, India's need for alternative trade routes has significantly increased.
Chabahar is also about India reestablishing its presence in Afghanistan, similar to how it built strong ties with the Republic government and the Afghan people between 2001 and 2021. A key part of the 2016 Chabahar agreement was to give land-locked Afghanistan access to the sea, avoiding Pakistan's Karachi and Gwadar ports. For many years, Pakistan has frequently closed its borders to Afghanistan, blocking the country's access to the sea and hindering trade and transit with India and South Asia. This has become relevant once again due to the strained relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Efforts to reactivate Chabahar as an alternative route have been set in motion through many open and behind-the-scenes negotiations.
In recent months, India has grown closer to the Taliban, while relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have deteriorated, and tensions between Tehran and Islamabad have increased. Taliban officials have publicly mentioned distancing themselves from “a country [Pakistan] that has been heavily involved in Afghanistan's affairs.”In March 2024, during a meeting in Kabul between Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, and J.P. Singh, head of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Division of India's Foreign Ministry, they discussed Chabahar. On March 28, the Taliban Foreign Ministry released a statement highlighting India's support for increasing trade between the two countries through the Chabahar port. Earlier that month, the Taliban announced plans to invest about $35 million in the Chabahar port.
Both India and Iran have aligned their strategies to engage with the Taliban. It's clear that New Delhi, Tehran, and Kabul are working together to revive the original Chabahar plan and move past past challenges. Even if it means proceeding without explicit approval from the United States, these regional players are willing to take a chance on the regional stage.
Backchannel diplomacy and strong strategic ties with the U.S. have previously enabled India to bypass U.S. sanctions while importing S-400 missiles and oil from Russia. This time, New Delhi is confident it can, as the Indian foreign minister put it, “communicate, convince, and get” quiet approval from the United States on the Chabahar deal, so IPGL won't face sanctions. New Delhi is a crucial partner for the U.S. in its competition with China, and Washington is likely to avoid harsh measures, especially during an election year. Moreover, with shifting regional alliances, India and the United States will need to navigate a complex landscape as they seek to strengthen their strategic partnership. (IPA Service)
