Iran Dismisses Report of ‘Dropping’ India from Chabahar Railway Project

Tehran [Iran], July 16 (ANI): Iran has refuted an Indian newspaper report claiming that New Delhi had been “dropped” from the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project.

One of the deputies to Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, Farhad Montaser said the story was “totally false because Iran has not inked any deal with India regarding the Chabahar-Zahedan” railway, reported Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

The BJP has never understood the nuances of foreign policy & as a result India is losing power & respect everywhere. If this govt spent a little more time on policy than PR, we may gain back the position they’ve lost us. https://t.co/NXjd36FOW1 — Congress (@INCIndia) July 15, 2020

“Iran has only signed two agreements with Indians for investment in Chabahar: one is related to the port’s machinery and equipment, and the second is related to India’s investment to the tune of $150 million,” Montaser was quoted by an Iran news agency.

Iran rubbished Media Reports of dropping India from Chabahar Port Railway Project. A deputy to Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, Farhad Montaser, labelled the report “totally false because Iran has not inked any deal with India regarding the Zahedan-Chabahar” railway. pic.twitter.com/U4sUBpPgM5 — Piyush Tiwari (@piedpiperlko) July 16, 2020

He summed up by saying that “sanctions have nothing to do to Iran-India’s cooperation in Chabahar”.

The United States, in 2018, had agreed to a waiver on Chabahar port projects under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (IFCA) of 2012.

Iran has of course done what it thinks best serves its interest. Having been pushed to the very edge by the US, Iran had probably no option but to accept the life-line thrown by China, says @sushantsareen: https://t.co/DPCKkl9inl — ORF (@orfonline) July 16, 2020

Earlier, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani had described the port as a “vital part of structuring Iran’s economic future”.

The Indian public sector railway company Ircon International has pledged to provide all services and funding for the project, estimated at about $1.6 billion, according to known reports. (ANI)

Source : ANI