India mulls options on Chabahar port stake before US sanctions kick in

By Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Mihir Mishra

India is considering various options regarding its stake in the Chabahar port in Iran, including temporarily divesting from it, ahead of the expiry of a US sanctions waiver in coming days, officials familiar with the matter said.

New Delhi is holding separate talks with the US and Iran on how to proceed on its $120 million investment in the port, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. One of the options is to temporarily transfer the stake to an Iranian entity, one of the officials said. India doesn’t plan to completely exit the port, the person said, since there are plans to expand connectivity at the harbor through a rail link.

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Officials had been hopeful that the sanctions waiver, which is due to expire April 26, would be extended, but rising tensions between the US and Iran made that unlikely, the person said. A final decision on the port investment hasn’t yet been made, the officials said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways didn’t immediately respond to requests for further information. Iran’s Embassy in New Delhi also didn’t respond.

New Delhi signed a 10-year contract with Iran’s Port and Maritime Organisation in 2024, seeking to develop Chabahar as an alternative gateway to ship goods to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing rival Pakistan. In 2018, the US gave India a sanctions waiver to operate at the port. That exemption was revoked in September 2025, but after lobbying from New Delhi, a waiver was given until April this year.

India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told lawmakers in February that the country “remains engaged with all concerned in order to address the implications of these developments.

Business Standard newspaper earlier reported that India was looking to divest its stake to an Iranian entity.

New Delhi is seeking to strike a balance between Washington — where ties have come under strain during President Donald Trump’s second term — and longstanding relations with Iran.

Trump’s war with Iran since February has added a new layer of complexity in US-India relations. Trump has ordered a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to force Tehran to the negotiating table. India is heavily reliant on energy supplies through the strait and has been negotiating separately with Iran to allow its tankers to pass through safely.

The Chabahar port is a major transportation node for the North-South Transport Corridor, a network of 7200 kilometers connecting Russia and Central Asian countries. India sent over 4 million tons of food aid to Afghanistan through the port since 2018, according to India’s External Affairs Ministry.