Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held a bilateral meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
Among other things, the two nations discussed US sanctions on Iran and the status of Iran nuclear deal with the European Union.
"India remains engaged with all stakeholders who are a part of the process, Iran is one of them. So it was natural the issue of sanctions did come up during meeting. We shared each others' position about where we stand at this point of time," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told media at a press conference after the meeting.
He further informed that the during the meeting, the foreign minister of Iran shared parts of the discussions which they were having with the EU. "We heard them out and explained our position. As far as the sanctions on Iran goes, we are also engaged with other stakeholders, other countries," MEA spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Iran expressed confidence in the steadfastness of the nuclear deal. "Everybody supported the nuclear deal and insisted on the need for full
implementation of the nuclear deal. I think the policy pursued by this administration in Washington will only lead to further isolation," he said.
On Chabahar, Zarif said that the port was operational and Indian shipments to Afghanistan were already going through it. But he hoped that "India and other investors would come to Chabahar and invest for expansion of port facility".
India had completed developing Chabahar port in August 2017 and it was formally inaugurated in December that year. Since then, Iran and India signed an agreement worth $2 billion for cooperation in the rail sector. Indian government reportedly plans to build a railway line in Iran, which will extend connectivity from Chabahar port to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Russia.
