Page 13 - IRANRptNov19

Chabahar ‘vital to Indian interests’
Washington and Tehran was about “balancing ties”. India, he noted, is a significant oil consumer and having “affordable” access to energy was “very important.”
Prior to the US in May this year introducing a sanctions drive to try and reduce Iranian oil exports to nil, India was known as the second biggest buyer of crude from Iran, behind China. With the US no longer issuing sanctions waivers on oil shipments from Iran, India has struggled to adjust its oil import plan in recent months. Traditionally, several Indian refineries, specifically designed for the type of crude oil Iran exports, buy crude consignments from the Iranians.
Jaishanker was also quoted as saying in response to journalists’ questions that Iran “was not disappointed” with India for stopping imports of crude oil in response to the US sanctions. Further hinting at a possible breakthrough on restarting imports, Jaishanker said: "I don't agree with you that the Iranians are disappointed. I think the Iranians are realists.
“There is a larger global situation in which they are operating... we are operating. In the world that I inhabit, we frankly understand each other's compulsions and possibilities.”
Turning to Chabahar—Iran’s only oceanic port, located on the Gulf of Oman and in the midst of an Indian-Iranian development and expansion investment to facilitate more cargo ships crossing the Indian Ocean—Jaishanker said the access provided to India by the facility to Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan was vital to Indian interests.
With a particular eye on the importance of Chabahar to the war-torn Afghan economy, the US has refrained from targeting the port with sanctions.
On September 29, Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) officials announced that officials should be tasked with developing new trade routes to access the Indian and other South Asian markets. The Chabahar route was again in mind.
Meanwhile, work is proceeding on creating the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-kilometre, multimodal project that will see India connected to northern Europe via a corridor running through Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.
2.8 ​Polls & Sociology
Iran drops six places to 170 on latest World Press Freedom Index
Iran has placed 170th out of 180 countries in the​ ​World Press Freedom Index 2019​ ​compiled by Reporters Without Borders, six places down on where it finished in the previous year’s ranking.
The decline has coincided with the sanctions-led economic attack which the US launched last year to strangle Iran's economy to force concessions on its Middle East policies. Analysts say this has given hardliners in Iran the upper hand in many areas of Iranian society which were previously starting to liberalise as economic growth rates improved in line with the multilateral nuclear deal. Since the US walked out of that deal and imposed its heaviest sanctions ever on the Islamic Republic, the country has found itself pushed back into recession.
In a short summary put out with the latest ranking, the Reporters Without Borders said: “Iran has been one of the world’s most repressive countries for
13​ IRAN Country Report​ November 2019 www.intellinews.com