TEHRAN (Iran News) Mohammad Rastad, former head of the Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), told Iranian media that the exemption was largely “symbolic and psychological” rather than a meaningful concession. He explained that the waiver only covered limited cargo transfers from India to Afghanistan through the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar, and did not extend to international shipping lines.

“Foreign shipping lines had already stopped calling at Iranian ports after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018, and they were unwilling to take the risk of entering our ports,” Rastad said. “The waiver never changed that reality.”

Rastad, who also served as deputy minister of roads and urban development, stressed that the exemption did not create significant openings for Chabahar, as it never enabled unrestricted international traffic. “As long as Iran remains under sanctions, maritime transport, port operations, and all related services will continue to face limitations,” he noted.

He questioned what tangible benefits the waiver had actually brought to Chabahar. “If there were no concrete achievements during the exemption period, how can its removal create new restrictions?” he asked. He emphasized that sanctions extend beyond port operations, affecting financial channels, equipment procurement, and cargo handling.

One of the key obstacles has been the inability of the Indian terminal operator to deliver on its contractual commitments. “The operator repeatedly cited sanctions as the reason for failing to supply equipment,” Rastad said. “Even when tenders were issued for purchasing port machinery, no international company was willing to participate because of U.S. sanctions.”

According to Rastad, this demonstrates that the waiver was “never a real or effective relief.” Instead, it remained “a paper-based exemption with no special privileges.” Consequently, he argued, its cancellation today has no significant implications for Chabahar’s operations.

Chabahar Port, located on Iran’s southeastern coast, has long been promoted as a strategic hub for regional trade, particularly for India’s access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. However, international sanctions have consistently hampered its development and global connectivity.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) In an interview with ILNA, Palmeh discussed the performance of Indian operators at Chabahar following a ten-year contract, as well as the potential for India to withdraw from the port due to U.S. pressures. He emphasized that increasing foreign investment in Iran’s ports naturally enhances the economic security of these ports. Connecting Iran’s interests with other countries in the maritime sector could provide stronger defenses against sanctions.

While Palmeh acknowledged the importance of foreign investment, he criticized the current situation. Originally, India had planned to invest $220 million in Chabahar. However, on the ground, the actual investment appears far less, with only partial investments visible, such as the arrival of six cranes. Despite these efforts, critical infrastructure, such as “gantry cranes,” which are essential for speeding up unloading and loading processes, is still lacking.

Palmeh also pointed out that Iranian private sector companies should be in charge of managing commerce, marketing, and operations at Chabahar. He highlighted the positive changes resulting from the presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines at the port, which has contributed to a significant increase in container operations compared to the previous year. He stressed the need to strengthen such mechanisms to boost private investment in the port.

On the issue of monopolistic practices, Palmeh criticized the Shipping Company for not supporting the private sector in transporting containers, particularly those owned by private shipping companies and forwarders. This practice, he argued, harms the port’s development and could be improved by collaborating with the private sector to optimize the use of shipping space.

Palmeh also revealed that the Shipping Company has been monopolizing the port for over a year. He hopes that within the next two weeks, the first private-sector-managed shipping service from the UAE to India via Chabahar will be launched, which could lead to reduced shipping rates and more competition.

Finally, in response to concerns about Chinese investment in Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, Palmeh stated that China’s presence in Gwadar does not preclude potential Chinese investment in Chabahar. He emphasized the need to make Chabahar attractive enough to incentivize China to invest, despite its significant investments in Pakistan. For China to shift its focus from Gwadar to Chabahar, Palmeh stressed that the port would need to offer substantial advantages that outweigh its investments in Pakistan.

This comes as Chabahar Port’s future investment prospects remain uncertain, with ongoing geopolitical and economic challenges affecting foreign participation in the project.

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TEHRAN (Iran News)The Qods Headquarters of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) confirmed in a statement on Tuesday night that its forces succeeded in eliminating two members of the Jaish al-Adl terrorist group Chabahar, Sistan, and Baluchestan Province, Iran.

According to the statement, the operation resulted in the death of two non-Iranian terrorists.

Ali-Reza Noura, the deputy governor-general of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, said that six additional members of the terrorist group were apprehended during this operation.

The official also said that Chabahar’s intelligence and police forces are committed to ensuring people’s security and will not permit any terrorist group to instigate insecurity in this city.

He referred to a recent terrorist attack on the Housing Foundation of Islamic Revolution in Chabahar, which prompted Iranian forces to initiate intelligence efforts to locate the terrorists and apprehend those on the run.

Noura said that the terrorist group aimed to deter investors and tourists from visiting the city.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) –The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has invested 35 million dollars in Iran’s southeastern port city of Chabahar on commercial, residential and administrative projects, the Iranian special envoy to Kabul announced.

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Zolfigol met Mukhtar Ahmed, chairman of Pakistan’s higher education commission, in Tehran today, discussing ways to enhance scientific cooperation.

There are no limitations to the expansion of relations between the two friendly countries of Iran and Pakistan in various fields of science, technology, and innovation. Both countries welcome the development of relations, IRNA quoted Zolfigol as saying.

“We are ready to attract students from Pakistan and send interested Iranian students to Pakistan for study and research opportunities.

Also, carrying out joint research and technology projects, joint production of scientific articles and books, patenting and establishing knowledge-based companies are among other areas of cooperation,” he added.

He went on to say that Iran supports the promotion of Persian language in Pakistan and Urdu language in Iran.

Tehran, Islamabad to boost scientific co-op

In a meeting in Tehran on January 15, Iran and Pakistan, while expressing willingness to expand cooperation, highlighted the importance of enhancing scientific relations.

A delegation of Pakistani academic members headed by Ahmed visited Iran’s House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) on Monday.

“Iran is ready to cooperate with Pakistan in technological fields. Information and communication technology, agriculture, and health are among the fields in which the two countries can boost cooperation,” ISNA quoted Amir-Hossein Mir-Abadi, an official with the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, as saying.

Ahmed, for his part, said that Iran and Pakistan are confronting similar problems and challenges; these common issues can lay the basis for boosting mutual relations and cooperation. “Pakistan is interested in cooperating and interacting with Iran in scientific and technological fields.”

The Pakistani official went on to say that the sanctions have made Iran more successful in scientific fields.

Exchanging academic staff including professors and students and conducting joint projects can be among other options of cooperation between Iran and Pakistan, he added.

Talking about setting up national pavilions in different countries, Ahmed said Pakistan is ready to hold Iranian pavilions, too.

He hoped that the bilateral cooperation would be extended into regional cooperation including other countries such as India and Bangladesh.

Sharing technological expertise with Islamic nations

In May 2023, the deputy science minister said Iran is ready to share its technological expertise with other Islamic countries.

Science and technology should be applied in order to create world peace and human justice, and Muslim countries can bring peace and progress not only to the Muslim nations but also to human beings with unity and empathy, Vahid Haddadi-Asl said, IRNA reported.

He made the remarks at the 1st Ministerial Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Dialogue Platform (OIC-15) which was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 25-26.

“Over the past years, despite the cruel sanctions imposed by the global arrogance against the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have seen significant progress in the fields of education, research, and technology, which is a sign of reliance on Iranian scholars and scientists. We are always ready to share our technological expertise with other Islamic countries.”

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Mohammad Hodaei, the deputy head of the CFZO for economic and investment making affairs, said that the presence of active investors and benefitting from the capacity of Chabahar free zone have led to the growth of economic activities and export from this zone.

He also announced that the number of production units, that export their products, has increased 37 percent in the first half of the present year, from that of the previous year.

Lying on the coast of the Gulf of Oman in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province, Chabahar is the country’s only oceanic port and given its strategic location in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) development of the port is of high significance for Iran, so the government has some major projects to create multi-dimensional transportation facilities in this port.

The port has two significant docks, namely Shahid Beheshti and Shahid Kalantari, which are mostly referred to as ports, i.e. Shahid Beheshti Port and Shahid Kalantari Port.

Development of Shahid Beheshti Port, construction of Chabahar International Airport, and building Chabahar-Zahedan (center of Sistan-Baluchestan Province) railway are three of the major projects to make Chabahar a complete logistics platform.

In addition, Chabahar Free Zone has been suggested as a transit and logistic gateway for Iran’s domestic market which, while reducing the cost and time of transportation it has also provided profitable economic opportunities in the development of logistics facilities.

Chabahar Free Zone is a multi-purpose zone with educational, industrial, tourism and transportation sectors.

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Mr. Yuliantoro met the caretaker of the international affairs of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Trade (ICCIMA) Ms. Niloofar Asadi and during the meeting both sides explored ways for broadening economic ties.

Considering the halt in trade relation between the two countries because of the sanctions and COVID pandemic, Indonesian Ambassador suggested a trade delegation from ICCIMA to be dispatched to Jakarta and to have some B2B meetings and sideline programs for getting acquainted with the capacities of Indonesia for resumption of trade ties between the two states.

Yuliantoro then pointed to three important fields for cooperation between the two countries and said that resolving legal issues of sanctions, developing barter trade and activities in Chabahar Port are the grounds for cooperation between Tehran and Indonesia.

He noted that Chabahar Port because of its geographical position and its commercial nature is very important and it can be a bridge between Indonesia and India and the Central Asia.

He stated that the economic section of Indonesian Embassy demands identifying executive mechanisms and education of “how to trade with Iran and identify the target market” that ICCIMA play an important role in this regard through cooperation with the embassy.

The Indonesian diplomat also welcomed broadening ties between Iran and Indonesia in the field of halal trade and emphasized that medical equipment and medicines, palm oil, tourism, petrochemicals especially disinfectants are of the grounds that can help to broaden bilateral trade because of huge needs of Indonesia to them.

Then Ms. Asadi, for her part, pointed to the letter of Head of ICCIMA to his Indonesian counterpart for visiting Iran which has gone unanswered and said that due to the needs for primary co-ordinations it is better some online meetings under the webinars will be held between the chambers of the two countries with participation of Indonesian Embassy.

Regarding the resumption of bilateral trade despite sanctions she suggested that the trade relations in the non-sanctioned fields like agriculture, medicines and food to be reinforced between Tehran and Jakarta.

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