US President Donald Trump's "outlook" on Afghanistan is being watched closely by India as it hopes for a "waiver" on the Chabahar port project from 'maximum pressure' policy, reinstated by the Trump administration through a national security memo last week.
India was likely to seek a "waiver" on the India-funded port, much like the exemption offered during the first Trump administration, a source told Sputnik India.
Another source said that India was still looking at what impact Trump's memo would have on the Chabahar port operations.
Signing a presidential memo to reinstate his maximum pressure policy, Trump directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to "modify or rescind sanctions waivers, particularly those that provide Iran any degree of economic or financial relief, including those related to Iran’s Chabahar port project".
In November 2018, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had exempted the Chabahar Port and the associated railway line for the "shipment of non-sanctionable goods through the Port for Afghanistan's use," according to a statement at the time.
While the first Trump administration negotiated the end of the American-led military operations in Afghanistan with the Doha Accord, the two-time US President has been critical of the manner in which the Biden administration carried out the military withdrawal in August 2021.
At a rally ahead of his inauguration last month, Trump blamed Biden for giving a "big chunk" of American military equipment to the "enemy"
“If we’re going to pay billions of dollars a year, tell them we’re not going to give them the money unless they give back our military equipment,” Trump remarked.
The hardline US policy on Iran in the first Trump administration was seen as a crucial factor leading to India drawing down its oil imports from Iran, which was before then one of the leading crude suppliers to New Delhi.
With the election of Biden in 2020 and the return of the Taliban* to Afghanistan in August 2021, India continued to use Chabahar to deliver humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, in line with its policy of standing with the Afghan people in addressing their humanitarian needs. New Delhi also views the Chabahar port as a gateway to increase trade to Central Asian states as well as is working with regional partners to link the Gulf of Oman port to the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
Last May, state-backed India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) signed a 10-year contract with Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO) for equipping and operating the Shahid Beheshti Terminal of Chabahar Port. At the time, the Biden administration warned India of the "potential risk of sanctions" over the long-term deal.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Parliament last November that the "grant assistance" for the supply of equipment has been enhanced to $120 million.
"India has also committed to provide a Line of Credit of $250 million in Indian Rupee (INR) equivalent for the development of Chabahar Port. Since 2018, the port has handled over 450 vessels, 1,34,082 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent) of containerised cargo and more than 8.7 million tons of bulk and general cargo," Jaishankar said at the time.
Last month, cooperation on Chabahar also figured during the talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai.
" It was also agreed to promote the use of Chabahar port for supporting trade and commercial activities, including for the purpose of humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan," an Indian readout said.
*under UN sanctions