Iran on Friday urged India to use the Chabahar port to send various shipments, claiming that the key transit hub will benefit both countries.

Iranian Ambassador Iraj Elahi also requested that India resume crude oil imports from Iran, citing New Delhi’s refusal to cave into Western pressure to stop purchasing petroleum products from Russia following the Ukraine crisis.

India ceased purchasing crude oil from Iran after the US refused to extend sanction waivers to India and several other countries.

“We believe that India is and was strong and powerful enough to withstand Western pressure… India is a rising power. India has a robust economy. As a result, India could easily resist US and Western pressure”, said the ambassador.

Elahi expressed hope that New Delhi would soon begin importing oil from Iran, citing India’s resistance to pressure not to buy oil from Russia. Such a move would benefit the Indian economy, the Indian people, and the Indian oil firms involved.

Concerning the Chabahar port project, he urged its expeditious completion while emphasizing its strategic importance.

“We should consider Chabahar port not only from an economic standpoint but also as a strategic partnership. Because of this significance, the pace of cooperation, progress, and promotion in Chabahar should be faster than it is now”, he stated.

“It is critical for both India and Iran. It will be beneficial to us”, he went on to say.

The Chabahar port, located on Iran’s energy-rich southern coast, is being developed by India, Iran, and Afghanistan to improve connectivity and trade ties.

According to the envoy, Iran believes the Indian government is supportive of it.

“Naturally, there are issues on both sides. We comprehend the Indian government’s openness to Chabahar. We think that Chabahar is more than just an economic concern”, he added.

“Chabahar is crucial for India. Likewise, it is significant for Iran. Nonetheless, Iran possesses ports in every region of the Persian Gulf. For transit, import, and export, we can use several ports”, he asserted that the port is essential to the interests of India.

“Chabahar is a port on the sea. It is closest to the road to Afghanistan and the Indian Ocean”, he added.

The ambassador cited financial constraints faced by Iran as a result of Western economic sanctions, saying that if Tehran had money, no country would have needed to come to Chabahar.

Elahi, who described India as a maritime nation, predicted that India would send shipments through Chabahar.

He further said, “We’ve been sanctioned. The Chabahar isn’t linked to any Iranian networks. Because if we had money and no problems, we might not have needed any country to come to Chabahar”.

“We were under sanction and needed money. We require cooperation, political support, and even some experiments”, he highlighted.

Elahi stated that the project is moving forward.

“We are not blaming any particular country. Sanctions are difficult to implement”, he added.

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