The top U.S. diplomat has granted an exception to certain U.S. sanctions that will allow the India-led development of a port in Iran as part of a new transportation corridor designed to boost Afghanistan’s economy, a State Department spokesman said on Tuesday.
The exception granted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to U.S. sanctions reimposed on Iran on Monday also will permit the construction of a railway line from Chabahar port to Afghanistan, and for shipments to the war-torn country of non-sanctionable goods, like food and medicines, the spokesman said.
In addition, Afghanistan will be allowed to continue importing Iranian petroleum products, the spokesman said.
“These activities are vital for the ongoing support of Afghanistan’s growth and humanitarian relief,” the spokesman said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
The sanctions reimposed on Iran’s oil exports – its main revenue source – and financial sector were triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s May 8 decision to abandon the 2015 international deal designed to block Tehran’s development of nuclear weapons.
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