'Disappointing': Iran's Foreign Minister On Budgetary Cuts For The Strategic Chabahar Port

Last Updated:February 26, 2026, 10:01 IST

Talking about the budgetary cuts to the jointly developed Chabahar project, Araghchi said, "Well, I think it’s a disappointment for both Iran and India."

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed his disappointment over India’s decision to not allocate any funds this year for the Chabahar port project, stating that the project could have played a key role in enhancing connectivity to Central Asia and Europe.

Talking about the budgetary cuts to the jointly developed project, Araghchi in an interview with India Today said, “Well, I think it’s a disappointment for both Iran and India."

“Chabahar, as Prime Minister Modi once said, is a golden gate that connects the Indian Ocean area to Central Asia, the Caucasus, and then to Europe — and vice versa. It is a very strategic port. If fully developed, it can play a very important role in connecting India through Iran to Central Asia, to the Caucasus, and then to Europe," the Iranian minister was quoted by India Today.

The Iranian minister added that the port can probably act as the best transit route. “I hope that one day we can witness the full development of this port," he said.

Importance Of Chabahar Port

With huge strategic importance, the Chabahar Port project is being developed by India at Chabahar in southeastern Iran. The port will open immense opportunities towards creating direct trade and transit route to Afghanistan and Central Asia while bypassing Pakistan.

The port will help India increase its regional connectivity, boost trade access to landlocked Central Asian markets, counter China’s influence in Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, and strengthen India’s geopolitical presence in the region.

However, amid renewed tensions between the US and Iran, this year’s Union Budget marks the first time since India signed a deal to develop the port in 2024 that no allocation has been made for the project.

Notably, India in previous budgets had earmarked Rs 100 crore annually for the major connectivity project in Iran’s southern Sistan-Balochistan province, where it continues to remain a key development partner.

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