Anyone considering trade deals with Iran is exposing themselves to potential sanctions risk, the State Department says.
- The United States will “continue to apply” sanctions on Iran.
- The risk of sanctions also applies to Indian companies.
- India and Iran sign 10-year contract to operate port.
The US State Department warned India about the “potential risk of sanctions” after it signed a 10-year deal with Iran, taking over operations at the Chabahar port.
At a news conference in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said: “…any entity, anyone considering trade deals with Iran, needs to be aware of the potential risk they are exposing themselves to and of the potential risk of sanctions.”
He reiterated that US sanctions on Iran remain in force and that Washington “will continue to apply them.”
Patel maintained that the risk of sanctions also applies to Indian companies.
The State Department statement comes after India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract to develop and equip Iran's strategic Chabahar port.
The development came as India seeks to increase trade in West and Central Asia. The deal will give India access for 10 years to use the port, located near Iran's southeastern border with Pakistan, according to Iran's Ministry of Highways and Urban Development.
In turn, the contract will allow India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) to invest $370 million to “provide strategic equipment” and “develop the port's transportation infrastructure.”
Iran's urban development minister Mehrdad Bazrpash and India's ports and shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal signed the contract in the city of Chabahar, in a ceremony broadcast live on state media.
In 2016, India agreed to fund the development of the Iranian port as a trade hub for Central Asia, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to revive economic ties with Tehran after the lifting of sanctions.
Modi and former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding for provision of a credit line from EXIM Bank of India to develop the port.
However, development of the port has stalled, despite waivers to sanctions that the United States began reimposing in 2018 after withdrawing from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
“Chabahar can act as a focal point in the region's transit development,” Bazrpash said at the signing ceremony.
“We are satisfied with this agreement and have full confidence in India,” he added. “Iran and India are trying to develop the Chabahar port as much as possible, keeping in mind the interests of the two countries for joint access to regional markets,” the Indian minister said.
This “long-term contract symbolizes the enduring trust and effective partnership between India and Iran,” he added.
In 2019, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, both countries agreed to accelerate the project following a visit by Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to Tehran. The port of Chabahar is in the Indian Ocean, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the border with Pakistan.
