US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has granted an exception to some US sanctions that will enable the India-led development of Chabahar port in Iran. This Port is considered as a corridor to advance Afghanistan’s economy.
The waiver permits the construction of a railway line from Chabahar port to Afghanistan, as well as shipments to the latter of non-sanctionable goods, such as food and medicines. Afghanistan will also be allowed to importi Iranian petroleum products, Reuters reported.
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Earlier this year, the US imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, These sanctions however, put India’s ability to obtain funds for the development of the Port of Chabahar, which has the potential of opening the way for millions of dollars of trade for land-locked Afghanistan and end its dependence on Pakistan’s port of Karachi.
This waiver also aims to enhance US ties with Afghanistan and India, as the US is trying to ‘change the Iranian regime’s destabilizing policies’.
In addition to this exception, the US has awarded temporary exemptions to eight countries allowing them to continue buying Iranian oil. These countries are: China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea.
We have decided to issue temporary allotments to a handful of countries responsible to specific circumstances and to ensure a well-supplied oil market. The U.S. will be granting these exemptions to China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey.
Secretary Pompeo stated.
