India to tell US the need to operate Chabahar port in Iran: Jaishankar

The Chabahar port in Iran will benefit the entire region, external affairs minister S Jaishankar has said, adding that India, which will operate it for 10 years, will try to make the US see the larger perspective.

“I think it's a question of communicating, convincing and getting people to understand, that this is actually for everyone's benefit. I don't think people should take a narrow view of it," Jaishankar said in Kolkata.

US stand

"They (US) have not done so in the past. So, if you look at the US' own attitude towards the port in Chabahar, the US has been appreciative that Chabahar has a larger relevance...we will work at it," he said on Tuesday.

The minister spoke at an interaction after the launch of the Bangla edition of his book, 'Why Bharat Matters'.

Sanctions threat

On Tuesday, the US warned that "anyone" considering business deals with Tehran needs to be aware of the "potential risk of sanctions".

On Monday, India and Iran signed an agreement to operate the Shahid-Behesti terminal in the Chabahar port for a period of 10 years.

Long-term pact

Jaishankar added: "We have had a long association with the Chabahar port but we could never sign a long-term agreement. The reason was... there were various problems on the Iranian end...the joint-venture partner changes, the condition changed.

"Finally, we were able to sort this out and we were able to get the long-term agreement done. The long-term agreement is necessary because without it you cannot really improve the port operation. And the port operation we believe, will benefit the entire region."

The Chabahar port is an India-Iran flagship project that serves as an important transit port for trade with Afghanistan and landlocked Central Asia.