Iran warns India – ‘Will end special privileges’

New Delhi: Disappointed at India for not making promised investments in Iran’s Chabahar port, Iran on Tuesday warned India of ending “special privileges.”

“It is unfortunate that Indian investment promises for expansion of Chabahar port and its connectivity projects have not been accomplished so far. It is expected that India takes immediate necessary measures in this regard if its cooperation and engagement in Chabahar port is of strategic nature,” Iran’s Deputy Ambassador and Charge d’Affaires Massoud Rezvanian Rahaghi is quoted by a news source.

India had signed an agreement to develop Chabahar port for trade and transit along with Afghanistan and Iran in 2016 after Pakistan denied access to its port of Gwadar, News Nation reported.

The Deputy Ambassador responding to US compulsions on cutting importing Iranian oil to countries across the globe, he said that Tehran had been India’s reliable partner and will continue to be so, but if Indian chooses to cut importing Iranian oil then it will as well lose all the special privileges provided by Iran.

“If India were to replace Iran with countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the US and others for the 10 per cent of its oil demand then it may have to revert to dollar-denominated imports which mean higher CAD (Current Account Deficit) and deprivation of all other privileges Iran has offered to India,” Rahaghi said.

He was addressing a seminar on ’emerging challenges and opportunities in the global diplomacy and its impact on bilateral ties with India’.

Iran is the third largest crude oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia. An amount of 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil was imported from Iran by India between April 2017 and January 2018.

“There is great opportunity for the US to help meet India’s energy needs. Recent purchases of US crude and liquefied natural gas are just a couple of examples of this potential” Haley had said on her visit to India for a meeting with PM Modi on the same.