WASHINGTON: US sanctions went into effect on Monday on a major Indian port project in Iran, as President Donald Trump again showed his willingness to punish longstanding partner New Delhi in aid of his wider regional goals -- in this case to pressure Tehran.
The first Trump administration issued a rare exemption in 2018 to allow Indian companies to keep developing Chabahar when the United States imposed sweeping unilateral sanctions on Iran, whose main port at Bandar Abbas is overcapacity.
But much has changed since 2018. Kabul was then still controlled by a government backed by Washington, the European Union and India, who viewed Pakistan´s role in Afghanistan with suspicion, accusing it of having ties to the Taliban.
