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US sanctions and Iran war undercut Chabahar’s role against China
The port of Chabahar, backed by India and intended as a counterweight to China-linked Gwadar, has continued operating through US sanctions waivers even as Washington escalated pressure on Iran.
The United States has spent decades seeking to curb China’s strategic rise, but developments in the Middle East are now dismantling one of the tools built to limit Beijing’s influence in the region, according to SCMP Economy.
The outlet points to the Iranian port of Chabahar, which has received strong backing from India, with hopes of creating a trade corridor into Afghanistan and Central Asia that would bypass Pakistan, as well as provide a strategic counterweight to the Chinese-operated Pakistani port of Gwadar.
SCMP Economy says successive US administrations recognized Chabahar’s value and issued sanctions waivers that allowed the Gulf of Oman port to keep operating, even as Washington increased pressure tied to its war against Iran.