Context

The US sanctions on Iran have not affected India’s Chabahar port project, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Lok Sabha.

About

• Iran's Chabahar port is located on the Gulf of Oman and is the only oceanic port of the country.
• The port gives access to the energy-rich Persian Gulf nations' southern coast.
• Chabahar port, with road and rail links through Iran, offers a more secure alternative route to Gwadar port in Pakistan, operated by the Chinese. 
  

Significance for India

• Access to Afghanistan: It gives India – a key US ally in the region that is assisting with Afghan reconstruction – access to the landlocked, war-torn country. 
• Gateway to Central Asia and beyond: Other than moving goods and equipment bound for Afghanistan, for India, it is also a trade link to lucrative markets in Central Asia and beyond.
• Strategic importance: The Port is of great strategic importance due to its location in the Gulf of Oman and at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz and enables Iran to have direct entree to the Indian Ocean.

US sanctions on Iran

• The United States reinstated economic sanctions on Iran after the country (under Donald Trump) abandoned a landmark nuclear deal in May 2018.
• In 2015, President Hassan Rouhani agreed a deal with the US and five other world powers to limit Iranian nuclear activities in return for the lifting of those sanctions.