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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNew Delhi: As bombs fall and sanctions bite across West Asia, Iran has said its economic engagement with India will remain steady during the war and grow faster once conditions stabilise. Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, indicated to TOI<\/span> that wartime disruptions are “mere speed bumps” and that Tehran’s “outlook on the future of Iran-India economic relations\u2014even during wartime and especially in the post-war period\u2014remains positive and expansive”. Fathali said, \u201cEconomic cooperation between our two nations is built on mutual interests and trust, and there is significant potential for further development.\u201d Placing spotlight on the Chabahar Port<\/a> project, he added it is a key project in this relationship. \u201cIn this regard, the Chabahar Port, as a strategic project, plays a key role in strengthening trade and transit links between Iran, India, and the region,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Watch<\/span><\/p>\n ‘Chabahar Port Symbol Of…’: Iranian Envoy Fathali’s Strong Message On India-Iran Partnership<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Positioned on Iran’s southeastern coast, Chabahar has long been New Delhi’s strategic bypass to landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia, sidestepping Pakistan’s choke points, which does not allow overland transit for Indian goods. Al-Biruni, the 10th-century Persian scholar and writer, described the coastal area near the town of Chabahar, then known as Tiz or Tis, as the \u201centry point or beginning of coastal India\u201d in his Kitab Tarikh Al-Hind (A History of India).For Tehran, the port is a lifeline to global reintegration, countering decades of Western isolation. Fathali, emphasizing its regional pivot, said: “We believe Chabahar can become a vital hub connecting Central Asia to open waters.\u201dThe Chabahar Port project dates back to the 1970s, when Iran\u2019s last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, proposed it as a deep-sea hub in the Gulf of Oman. During the Islamic revolution of 1979 in Iran and subsequent leadership transitions, work on the project slowed down. In the 1980s, when the Iran-Iraq War left Iran\u2019s Persian Gulf routes vulnerable, Iran doubled up its focus to shift its trade and expand Chabahar.When India entered a conversation to develop the port around 2003, it mainly meant access to Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing Pakistan. But it was also in response to the initial construction in Pakistan\u2019s Gwadar, under Beijing\u2019s flagship $62-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).The partnership was formalised in 2015 with an MoU, with India committing up to $500 million during PM Narendra Modi\u2019s 2016 visit to Tehran. The pact, renewed for 10 years in 2024 (earlier renewed annually), promises India a direct maritime-land corridor to Central Asia and beyond\u2014vital for trade in minerals, grains, and energy.Through Chabahar, goods can be shipped from Indian ports to Iran and then transported by road and rail further inland, and into Russia, Central Asia, Europe.India has invested in port equipment and operations, while Iran has worked on expanding connectivity from the port to its internal transport network. Progress has been uneven due to sanctions on Iran and delays in infrastructure development.In the port\u2019s current phase, India committed over $350+ million in core investment as well as credit lines including for equipment, berths, and the proposed next phase involves additional berths and rail connectivity, and is estimated to require additional funds. The Iranian envoy’s statement lands at a knife-edge moment when India is weighing its options under US sanctions on Iran. A waiver deadline on April 26, 2026, is approaching.Amid continued uncertainty in the regional security environment, Fathali\u2019s remarks indicate optimism and assurance that the project will remain on track despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and gather pace after it ends.<\/div>\n\n