The United States has granted India a six-month waiver from American sanctions on the strategically important Chabahar Port project in Iran, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Thursday.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that talks with the US for a trade deal are continuing. He also noted that India is currently studying the implications of recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies. Jaiswal reiterated India’s consistent stance on energy sourcing, saying, “We are guided by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people.”

But why is Washington making an exception for India’s work in Iran, a country under severe American sanctions, and what makes the Chabahar Port so strategically important?