NEW DELHI – US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Irandeal could impact India in a range of areas, including overseas projects,exports, payments for oil, and even international relations, India todayhas reported.
The deal, signed during Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House, easedsanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear program.
CHABAHAR PORT
Now, US sanctions could could affect the development of the Chabahar Port(located in southeastern Iran), part of a route that connects India andAfghanistan, and circumvents Pakistan. New Delhi has already committed $85million to the project, with a total planned investment of $500 million.
Here’s a statistic that provides some perspective on the importance of theportlink>:Last year, a 1.1 million tonne Indian wheat consignment was sent through it.
Donald Trump holds up a proclamation declaring his intention to withdrawfrom the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement after signing it in the DiplomaticRoom at the White House in Washington. (Photo: Reuters)
The Chahabar port isn’t the only project that could take a hit – there’salso the $1.6 billion India-Iran-Afghanistan railway line, and theInternational North South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The INSTC is anambitious 7,200-km multi-mode network project (India is part of it); itbegins in Iran and ends in Russia, cutting right across Central Asia. Itsgoal is to cut costs and transportation time.
If US sanctions cause countries or financial institutions involved in theproject to back out, the INSTC will be impacted.
India has always maintained that the Iranian nuclear issue should beresolved peacefully through dialogue and diplomacy by respecting Iransright to peaceful uses of nuclear energy as also the internationalcommunitys strong interest in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iransnuclear program. All parties should engage constructively to address andresolve issues that have arisen with respect to the JCPOA.
– MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar
PAYMENTS FOR OIL
During the era of sanctions, India had major backlogs in terms of paymentstowards oil imports from Iran. When the sanctions were lifted, both NewDelhi and Tehran heaved a sigh of relief, and payments could be made.
Trump’s decisionlink>-which Barack Obama described as “misguided” in a long Facebook post – wouldhave a major impact on these payments.
In fact, Iran is currently India’s third biggest supplier of oil, and anyupward fluctuation in oil prices would affect the price in India – whichwould have an impact on inflation and the rupee-dollar equation.
ANTI-AMERICA GROUPING?
China has been considering the induction of Iran into the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation (SCO) – an eight-member grouping which includesIndia, and is led by Beijing and Moscow.
If Iran is inducted after the re-imposition of US sanctions, India could beseen as being part of an anti-America bloc.
Walking away from the JCPOA turns our back on Americas closest allies, andan agreement that our countrys leading diplomats, scientists, andintelligence professionals negotiated. In a democracy, there will always bechanges in policies and priorities from one Administration to the next. Butthe consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to riskseroding Americas credibility, and puts us at odds with the worlds majorpowers.
– Former US President Barack Obama/Facebook
For now, European nations, Russia and China have shown commitment to theIran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), which wasendorsed by a UN Security Council resolution soon after it came intoexistence on July 14, 2015.
Former US president Barack Obama (left) at an event held to discuss the theIran nuclear deal at the White House in September 10, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)
Trump says the JCPOA has failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclearweapons or supporting terrorism in the region.