Iran Seeks India’s Help In Chabahar Rail Project – Free PDF Download

• In 2016, India and Iran signed a series of agreements that allowed New Delhi to use the port of Chabahar to access Central Asia and Afghanistan.
• It provided India the right to develop & operate 2 terminals and 5 berths with multipurpose cargo handling capacities

In the port of Chabahar for 10 years.

• After the bilateral, Prime Minister Modi and Iranian President Dr. Hassan Rouhani were joined by Dr. Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan,
• They sealed the agreement for Trilateral Transport and Transit Corridor connecting Chahbahar with Afghan road and rail network.

2016 agreement

• Indian Railways Construction Ltd (IRCON) had signed an MoU with the Iranian Rail
• IRCON had promised to provide all services, superstructure work and financing for the project (around $1.6 billion).

US sanctions

• However, despite several site visits by IRCON engineers, and preparations by Iranian railways, India never began the work, ostensibly due to worries that these could attract U.S. sanctions.
• The S. had provided a sanctions waiver for the Chabahar port and the rail line to Zahedan, but it has been difficult to find equipment suppliers and partners due to worries they could be targeted by the U.S.
• India has already “zeroed out” its oil imports from Iran due to U.S. sanctions.

Now what happened?

• In an interview to ‘The Hindu‘, Iranian diplomat Masoud Rezvanian says Tehran now hopes that New Delhi will help facilitate equipment for the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line.
• India is not a part of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway at present, but as Iran begins the second phase of the 628-km project,
• Tehran hopes New Delhi will help it procure equipment to run the rail line from the Chabahar port to the Afghan border.
• Iran’s Port and Maritime Organisation (PMO) recently conveyed to India a request for cranes, tracks, switches and signalling equipment,
• As well as locomotives that it has had difficulty in procuring them directly due to the U.S.- imposed sanctions.

India’s view

• According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA),
• IRCON completed the site inspection and feasibility report, and had been waiting for the Iranian side to appoint a nodal authority.

U.S. poll results

• The S. election results projecting Mr. Biden as the next President are being watched in both India and Iran for the possibility that sanctions on Iran might ease,
• Allowing India to increase its engagement with its traditional partner who used to be a major supplier of oil before the Trump administration forced India to “zero out” imports.

Gas field development

• Delays due to sanctions have also taken a toll on the Indian interest in developing the Farzad-B gas field, where ONGC Videsh made a discovery in 2008.
• Iran would now develop it through domestic companies.

Q) Which of the following countries does not shares border with Iran?

1. Kuwait
2. Qatar
3. Armenia
4. Turkmenistan
5. Syria

1. 1 & 2
2. 2, 3 & 4
3. 1, 3 & 5
4. 1, 2 & 5

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