Iranian Official: No Documentation Exists Regarding Chabahar Port's Exemption from Sanctions

The Secretary of the Association of Shipping Companies of the Islamic Republic states that India has not invested in the development of Chabahar Port due to sanctions and that there is no documentation regarding the port's exemption from sanctions. This comes despite officials from the thirteenth government announcing about three months ago the re-signing of a 'long-term' investment contract with India for the development of Chabahar Port. Masoud Polmeh, the Secretary of the Association of Shipping Companies, said on Friday, September 2, to ILNA that Chabahar Port was 'exempt from sanctions at one point solely for the transportation of goods to Afghanistan, specifically for humanitarian actions, and fundamentally, the delay of 22 years in Indian investment in Chabahar was due to sanctions, and we do not have any documentation regarding the exemption of Chabahar Port from sanctions.' The previous investment contract by India in Chabahar Port ended late last year, and India only fulfilled part of its investment commitments. After the U.S. sanctions, although it was stated that this project was 'exempt' from sanctions, India halted its investment in Chabahar Port. Over the past eight years, the company 'India Ports Global' has invested $85 million in this port, while it was supposed to invest over $400 million. Last year, only four million tons of goods were unloaded or loaded at Chabahar Port, which is equivalent to just two percent of the total volume of Iran's non-oil exports and imports. Ultimately, on May 24 of this year, a new 10-year investment contract between the Indian company and Iran for the development of Chabahar Port was signed, and Islamic Republic officials claimed that this company intends to make a new investment of $370 million in Chabahar. Iranian officials also claim that the contract includes the 'establishment of a joint shipping company between India and Iran,' but Mr. Polmeh states that establishing such a company to create an international entity is nearly impossible given the current sanctions conditions. According to the Secretary of the Association of Shipping Companies, 'the establishment of a joint shipping company between Iran and India is impossible, and on the other hand, establishing such a company is not economically justified for India, because first, this shipping company cannot have significant operations outside of Iran, and secondly, for this volume of trade between the two parties, we do not have a fleet supply problem that necessitates the creation of a joint economic entity between the two countries.' Mr. Polmeh also emphasized that in a situation where Iran cannot receive its claims from India in dollars or euros, 'how can we enter into a joint investment and bilateral transaction when the other country is certainly exposed to the threats of sanctions and its specific problems?' Statistics from the Indian Ministry of Economy show that this country has only imported $283 million from Iran in the first half of this year, which is a 20 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. India's exports to Iran have also increased by 17 percent to $640 million. For comparison, the bilateral trade between the two countries in 2018, before the U.S. sanctions, was $17.6 billion, of which 84 percent was related to Iran's exports to India, most of which was crude oil.