US sanctions on India’s Chabahar port project in Iran officially took effect on Monday, closing a chapter on the rare exemption Washington once granted and putting New Delhi under fresh pressure as it balances regional strategy with American penalties.

The decision is part of US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, AFP reported. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the exemption, which dated back to 2018, was no longer justified since it had been carved out to support Afghanistan’s reconstruction. With Kabul now firmly under Taliban control, that rationale has disappeared.

“The revocation is consistent with President Trump’s maximum pressure policy to isolate the Iranian regime,” Pigott said when announcing the move.

The sanctions come a day after broad UN measures against Iran also snapped back into place, underlining a hardening international front over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

This is a developing story.

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With inputs from AFP