New Delhi:

Amid the tense situation in West Asia, Iranian Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi has said the tension between his country and Israel is “not new”. He assured Indians and other tourists that “Iran is safe” to travel and urged them to explore the historic land of Persia.

In an interview with PTI on the sidelines of the Iran Tourism Roadshow in Delhi, the envoy also expressed the hope that more direct flights can be set up between the two countries, as well as by Indian carriers from between different cities of India and Iran.

Currently, there are two direct flights between Tehran and Delhi and one between the Iranian capital and Mumbai, he said on Friday.

Asked if the current tense situation in West Asia including the Iran-Israel hostility has cast a shadow on the flow of tourists in the country, Elahi said the situation has not changed, “but Indians and other tourists do not have any security problems” in Iran.

“The tension between Iran and Israel is not new, there have been tensions for a long time. So, it is not something new that will affect the situation in Iran… I assure Indian tourists, and Indian friends and invite them to come to Iran, and visit Iran.

“They should see by themselves how much safer Iran is. And, it is beautiful and attractive,” Elahi told PTI Videos.

He emphasised that Iran has passed “imposed” wars and sanctions, in its journey as a nation.

Asked about the status of India-Iran ties in the face of changing global dynamics, the envoy said, “The bilateral ties with India are not only good but fantastic.” India and authorities in India observed a day-long mourning when the then-Iranian president Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi died, and condolences expressed are registered in the “national memory of Iran”. It is something unbelievable for Iran, and regarding the relations, “the supreme leader of Iran respects India, and I as an ambassador of Iran also fully feel the respect of PM Modi and the government of India,” he added.

The government of India had declared one-day national mourning on May 21 as a mark of respect to Raisi who had tragically passed away in a helicopter crash.

Elahi said at the strategic level, both countries have a good mindset about each other, and at the operative level, there are “some difficulties”.

“We are in good relation with different structures of India to resolve these difficulties, we need some mechanism. Strategically, we see a willingness on both sides. We do not have any problems between the two countries.

“It is important. It is a strategic asset for both the countries. We have been together, we are now together, and we are now working to be in the future,” the ambassador said.

India and Persia, as Iran is historically known, are two ancient civilisations and have had ties in trade, culture and other sectors, going back several centuries.

“Iran and India have a long-standing relation, and one aspect of our relation has been people-to-people relations and interactions. Unfortunately, Covid affected this relation. We organised this roadshow to reactivate and revive the good tourism cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

“We believe that India needs to know more about the current Iran and development of Iran, as also Iranians also need to know more about India and the development of India, and the capabilities of the cooperation,” the envoy added.

The event saw a gathering of different stakeholders of tourism — travel agencies, airliners and officials from both countries.

“They have the opportunity to discuss different ways to promote tourism between the two countries. We recently have removed or resolved some concerns of Indians, and we have resolved the visa issue.

“Indians can enter Iran for two weeks without any visa, Indian passport holders are exempted from visa.

“Also, when they enter or depart Iran, their passport will not be stamped. So, they do not have concerns regarding travelling or visiting other countries. This is an important issue,” Elahi said.

Another important issue is that the number of flights should be increased. Now, there are two direct flights between Delhi and Tehran, which take about three-and-a-half hours. Another flight between Tehran and Mumbai is about less than four hours. “But, we plan to increase the number of flights.” “We have asked and approached Indian airlines and trying to explain the capacity of the big market of Iran for Indian airlines. So, Indian carriers can be welcomed to set up direct flight not only from Delhi or Mumbai, but also Hyderabad, and Bangalore, are good markets, and even Kashmir is good. Different cities of the two countries can be connected with direct flights, we welcome and we hope that Indian carriers can set up direct flights,” he said.

Asked what is the increased frequency of direct flights he is expecting, the envoy said, “We are expecting at least one flight per day, seven-day-a-week flights.” Elahi said this event is just the beginning in the long-drawn aim of cooperation and Iran hopes that after this event will witness promotion and progress in tourism between the two countries, on both sides.

“We are insisting not just to attract Indian tourists, we are also insisting to attract Iranian tourists to India… According to the latest statistics, in the last year, more than 13 million Iranians have travelled abroad, but the portion that went to India is just about 58,000.

“It is nothing, very low (in number). On the other hand, the number of Indian tourists going to Iran, the figure is huge. So, they can benefit from tourism cooperation. And, we hope that it is a good step,” he added.

Besides, Indians can not only buy good souvenirs from Iran but they can also do business with Iran during their visit to Iran, the envoy said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

This week marked a new chapter in India’s 20 year old interest in a port in Iran- Chabahar. On a visit to Tehran, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his Iranian counterpart oversaw the signing of an agreement to develop the Shahid Beheshti terminal- one terminal in the warm water port just off Iran’s Sistan Baluchistan province.

Broadly, here are the terms of the agreement.

The Long term contract signed is for 10 years- earlier, the two sides had signed an MoU in 2016, part of a trilateral agreement with Afghanistan for the development of the port, but it could not be converted into a long term contract for a number of reasons- changes in the jt venture partners, the slow pace of Indian investment etc.

India has committed US $120 million, and a credit line of US $250 million to develop the terminal. This is a small amount compared to the other big projects in the region, but it’s a start.

Thus far the terminal has a modest operation, 6 harbour cranes, and other equipment worth $25 million- to handle about 8.5 million metric tonnes of cargo, mostly between India and Iran and India and Afghanistan, but the plan is for a 4-phase development of its capacity to 82 million tons per year and 32 jetties.

The Contract is between India Ports Global and Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran. Earlier the joint venture was with the Aria Banader Iranian Port & Marine Services Company. The contract contains a clause to extend the lease of the port terminal to India after 10 years as well.

But here’s where trouble struck. In a US State department briefing, its spokesperson, when asked about the deal, raised the risk of potential sanctions. When asked if there would be an exemption for this, the spokesperson said no.

That “No” at the end is the most significant part of his statement. Why? Because in 2018, the US had introduced an amendment to its Iran Freedom and CounterProliferation Act (IFCA), allowing an exemption from very stringent sanctions on any company doing business in Iran –

1. For Humanitarian aid to Iran

2. For any assistance and support to Afghanistan (which is what Chabahar was designated as).

3. A temporary waiver of 6 months to India, China and other countries for the import of oil from Iran. While China continued its oil imports from Iran after the 6 months ran out, India bowed to the Trump administration’s pressure, and stopped all oil imports.

The US State department has not clarified its statement so far- but if it is changing policy, it may be for a number of reasons:

1. The US pulled out from Afghanistan in 2021, and no longer wishes to support Kabul under the Taliban regime.

2. The US wants to dissuade India from broadening Chabahar’s scope to the INSTC and trade with Russia – even with the exemptions, India has had to slow down investments in Chabahar, has found it hard to find suppliers and insurers for its shipments, and plans to build the Chabahar Railway line have been dropped.

3. The Biden administration is getting tougher on Iran, especially under fire from Trump in an election year, and is narrowing its exemptions for Chabahar as well.

On the other hand, many believe the US is unlikely to follow through on its threat, given its previous records on threatening sanctions.

1. In 2017, the US had threatened sanctions on Chabahar as well as India’s oil imports from Iran and Venezuela. On Chabahar it gave an exemption, but India pulled out of a number of oil investments and cancelled imports from Iran and Venezuela.

2. Prior to 2018, US had threatened India in 2012 to cancel Iranian oil imports, but New Delhi at the time had not agreed, no sanctions followed.

3. With Russia- the US threatened CAATSA sanctions over India’s purchase of the S-400 systems, but has not followed through, although its acted against China and Turkey.

The US has banned a handful of Indian companies in its sanctions regime, including one for selling dual use tech to Russia, but nothing like it has done with other countries including China- a testament to India’s importance.

Why Chabahar, Iran connectivity ties matter

1. Ties with Iran part of traditional diplomacy, alternative to Pakistan, access to central asia.

2. Chabahar and INSTC balance India’s west asia policy with I2U2 and IMEEC.

3. India is part of multilateral platforms with Iran: SCO and BRICS.

4. Backtracking on oil imports, other deals has cost India, Chabahar is now the lynchpin of ties

Worldview Take

With all the problems the US has this year, including Ukraine, Gaza, the Iran-Israel tussle, ties with China and others, it is hardly likely to open a new front with India over Chabahar. However, New Delhi must keep an eye on US Congress, which could take a tougher line, even after US elections, even as it moves to shore up flagging ties with Iran. Eventually, diplomacy is the art of letting others have your way, and not one of constant brinkmanship.

Script and Presentation: Suhasini Haidar

Production: Shibu Narayan and Ananyaa Desikan