(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: Chabahar Port & US Sanctions

Topic: Chabahar Port & US Sanctions

Guest:

Maj. Gen. Dhruv C. Katoch (Retd., Director, India Foundation)
Prof. A. K.Pasha, (Centre for West Asian Studies, JNU)
Meera Shankar, (Former Ambassador)

Topic Description:

The strategic Chabahar port project, being developed by India in Iran, is a separate exception and will not be impacted by US President Donald Trump's decision not to renew exemptions that let eight countries including India to buy Iranian oil without facing tough American sanctions. The Chabahar port, considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with central Asian countries, is located in the Indian Ocean in the Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. The port, which is easily accessible from India's western coast, is increasingly seen as a counter to Pakistan's Gwadar Port which is being developed with Chinese investment. A US State Department spokesperson said that the operation of Chabahar Port is a separate exception. President Trump, in a move that could have implications on India's energy security, on Monday decided not to grant sanctions exemptions to any oil customers of Iran, further squeezing Tehran's top export commodity. The US move, seen as an escalation of the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" on Iran, comes after it gave temporary 180-days waiver to eight countries, including India. On this edition of the big picture we will analyse the exemption of the Chabahar port from US sanctions.