Chabahar has been central to New Delhi’s regional strategy. But with Washington revoking its sanctions waiver, India now faces a tough balancing act — managing ties with both Tehran and Washington while recalibrating its strategic outreach

India’s plans to develop the strategically located Chabahar port on Iran’s south eastern coast are in jeopardy once again. Its development, already severely hobbled by decades of US sanctions on Iran, has received another setback with the US renewing its sanction on a port which India sees as crucial for not just boosting sub-regional connectivity but for its own strategic ambitions.

The strategic importance of Chabahar

For India, the Chabahar port located at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman is of strategic value not only because it provides access to Afghanistan but also to the land-locked Central Asian countries. Moreover, India has set its sights on an even more ambitious connectivity plan by using Chabahar as a gateway to northern Europe via the International North South Corridor (INSTC) — a multi-modal transport network project.

Additionally, the port also gives India another foothold in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), with the Chinese-built Gwadar port in Pakistan being barely 72 miles away. Locked in a geo-strategic tussle for........

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