America Pulls the Plug on Chabahar: India’s Billion-Dollar Gamble Collapses

India thought it had found the perfect escape hatch. Build a port in Iran, pour in money, avoid Pakistan, and suddenly you’ve got a highway to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Easy, right? Well — no.

On September 29, Washington basically slammed the door shut. The U.S. ended the special waiver that let India operate at Chabahar. Overnight, a decade of effort and nearly $400 million looks like it might just evaporate.

I remember when this deal was signed. Modi smiling in Tehran alongside Rouhani and Ghani — three men, three pens, a lot of promises. “Historic,” they said. Now it feels more like a footnote.

Why Chabahar Was a Big Deal

Chabahar isn’t just another dusty port. It was India’s way of dodging Wagah, of avoiding the awkward dependence on Pakistani soil. Ships could sail from Gujarat and reach Iran in just a few days. From there, trucks rolled into Afghanistan, and from Afghanistan, the road opened into Central Asia.

“India saw Chabahar as its ticket to Central Asia without crossing Pakistani territory,” Michael Kugelman at the Wilson Center reminded me in one interview. And it worked — until the politics shifted.

Washington’s Line in the Sand

The U.S. didn’t mince words. State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott spelled it out: the exemption is gone. Chabahar’s operators? Sanctioned…