The Ministry of External Affairs today denied reports that India has decided to exit the Chabahar port project in Iran. Responding to a question on the issue during the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India continues to engage with USA seeking an extension of the sanction waiver.
The spokesperson noted that USA issued a six-month sanction waiver to India for the Iranian port project, which is expiring in April this year. Which means, if the waiver is not extended, India will have to leave the project, or risk facing sanction-related action by USA.
Jaiswal said, “On the question of Chabahar, on 28 October 2025, as you are aware, the US Department of Treasury had issued a letter outlining the guidance on the conditional sanctions waiver, which is valid till 26th April 2026. We remain engaged with the US side in working out this arrangement.”
Peddling lies just like your leader Rahul Gandhi — your “surrender” claim on Chabahar Port is pure fiction.
Facts from MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (January 16, 2026 update):
• The US Treasury issued a letter on October 28, 2025, granting India a sanctions waiver for… https://t.co/D3sK4sgePG pic.twitter.com/uikhMPWOzN
— BJP (@BJP4India) January 16, 2026
The Trump administration had reimposed sanctions on the Chabahar port in Iran in September 2025, but India was able to obtain a waiver for six months after that. The waiver allowed India continue to run the Shahid Beheshti Terminal through the state-run company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), till 26 April 2026.
The question was raised after a report by the Economic Times yesterday claimed that the Chabahar project has collapsed, based on Donald Trump’s recent comments that countries doing business with Iran will face 25% tariff. Citing unnamed sources in the government, the report claimed that India has no other option but to exit the project.
It also said that India had already transferred its entire commitment of around $120 million for the port to Iran before the sanctions were imposed, and therefore, Iran can continue to develop the port using the money. As per the ET report, government directors on the board of India Ports Global Ltd, the entity tasked with developing and operating the Chabahar Port in Iran, resigned en masse after the sanctions, and the website of the entity was taken down to “insulate everybody associated with the port from potential sanctions”.
However, today the MEA didn’t confirm that India has decided to exit the project, adding that govt of India is talking with US over the issue.
