Iran president meets PM Modi, seeks help to end war

Chabahar, on Iran's southeastern coast, is India's flagship connectivity investment in the country, developed to give India sea access to Afghanistan and Central Asia while bypassing Pakistan, and to serve as a key node on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) has operated the Shahid Beheshti terminal under a 10-year contract signed in 2024. Since 2018, India's participation had been legally shielded by a US sanctions exemption (issued under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act) recognising Chabahar's role in Afghanistan reconstruction — but Washington revoked this exemption in September 2025, granted only a temporary six-month extension to April 26, 2026, and has not renewed it since, leaving India's continued involvement in a legally exposed position.

Key Details

• India signed a trilateral India-Iran-Afghanistan agreement on Chabahar in 2003, followed by a bilateral pact in 2016; the 10-year terminal-operation contract was signed in 2024.
• The original US sanctions waiver (2018) was revoked effective September 29, 2025; a six-month reprieve extended it only to April 26, 2026.
• India has reportedly examined a proposal for IPGL to divest its stake in the Chabahar Free Zone entity to a local Iranian party, with an option to reclaim control if sanctions relief is restored — reflecting the project's continued strategic value despite the legal uncertainty.
• India's cumulative investment in port equipment procurement at Chabahar is reported at roughly US $120 million.

The INSTC is a multi-modal (ship/rail/road) transport corridor linking India to Russia and Central Asia via Iran, intended to cut transit time and cost compared with the traditional Suez Canal route. It was established through a trilateral agreement between India, Iran, and Russia signed in St. Petersburg in 2000.

India has historically positioned itself as a non-aligned or "multi-aligned" power that maintains simultaneous engagement with rival or sanctioned states (e.g., Iran, Russia, Gulf Arab states, Israel, the US) without formal bloc alignment — a posture often described today as "strategic autonomy." Invitations for India to mediate in regional conflicts, as extended by President Pezeshkian, draw on this reputation for maintaining channels with multiple sides of a dispute.

Key Details

• India's foreign policy doctrine has evolved from Cold War-era Non-Alignment (Panchsheel principles, 1954; Non-Aligned Movement founded 1961) to post-Cold War "multi-alignment," balancing ties with the US, Russia, Gulf states, and Iran simultaneously.
• India has not formally accepted mediator roles in the current West Asia conflict; its public position has emphasised dialogue, restraint, and protection of civilian shipping and seafarers rather than direct mediation.
• India's dependence on Gulf crude oil and LNG, and the safety of Indian seafarers transiting regional waters, underpin its stated interest in de-escalation, independent of any mediating role.