The United States has rescinded an old waiver on Iranian sanctions on its Chabahar Port, which is to be implemented on September 29, 2025. The move was announced by the US Department of State and, according to the reports of the US government officials, it is associated with a renewal of the previous President Donald Trump policy of maximum pressure toward Iran, which is the next step in the hardline policy of the US.
Sanctions and Their Scope
Through the revocation, those and other parties that were involved in the operations at Chabahar will now be subject to possible fines under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (IFCA). The waiver already exempted the port development projects of punitive action as it was known to have been beneficial in assisting humanitarian assistance and trade in the region. It has a major effect on the geopolitical and economic dynamics around the strategic facility when it withdraws.
India's Stake in Chabahar
The move has direct implications on India which has heavily invested in creating Chabahar as part of its vision of regional connectivity. In May 2025, Ports Global Limited, a state-run enterprise, in India entered into a 10-year contract with Iran, to manage and develop a terminal at Chabahar. It also entailed a 250 million credit line to upgrade port infrastructure.
To India, Chabahar is an important trade route to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and others bypassing Pakistan. The port has already been utilized in the past in delivering humanitarian goods to Afghanistan and in supplying vital goods to Iran and this has made it a hub of New Delhi outreach in the region.
Strategic Setback
The revocation is generally regarded as a failure to the strategic goals of India, especially strategies to connect Chabahar with the Iranian railway network and make it a part of the larger regional networks, including the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Analysts warn that US sanctions would discourage the involvement of the private sector, hinder infrastructure improvements, and finance.
Broader Implications
Outside of India, the shift can also create some tension in US-India relations, as Washington re-emphasized the situation of countering Iran. It casts new doubts on the issue of balancing strategic partnerships in the area where China is gaining a foothold with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its access to Gwadar Port.
The US ruling highlights the complicated nature of the interaction between geopolitics, sanctions policy, and regional trade ambitions and leaves the future of Chabahar unpredictable and Indian connectivity schemes on the crossroads.