BY: Kayhan Int’l
Where there is a will there is a way, goes a famous adage, and if all goes well, Iran and India are set to break new ground for cooperation in the region to the benefit of the two ancient friendly countries and also in the interests of the rest of Asian states.
Where there is a will there is a way, goes a famous adage, and if all goes well, Iran and India are set to break new ground for cooperation in the region to the benefit of the two ancient friendly countries and also in the interests of the rest of Asian states.
The recent entrusting by the Islamic Republic of part of the jetties of the strategic port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman to India which has offered to develop harbour facilities in addition to building the railway track to the border of Afghanistan, is being hailed as a landmark agreement for the promotion of trade and economic development.
India, which considers Iran as the safest and surest land bridge to not just the landlocked Central Asian countries but beyond them to Russia and the Caucasus states, stands to reap commercial bonanza through this connection.
Iran also stands to gain through this south-north trade corridor that in the long run will provide a vital link between the European Union and ASEAN (Southeast Asian states) in an economical way by substantially cutting the costs of the long, circuitous and cumbersome sea route.
The Iranphobia policy of the US, especially the obsession of Donald Trump regarding the Islamic Republic whose iron-resolve policies have disturbed the sleep of the American president and are causing him nightmares, despite his breach of the international nuclear accord and imposing of illegal economic sanctions on Iran, is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for Tehran.
With the European countries showing hesitancy in continuing their promised trade deals with Iran and lacking the will to match their words with practical steps for circumventing the US sanctions, Iran, which is definitely not short of friends and trading partners, has decided to give more attention towards independent countries like Russia, China and India.
The dividends are indeed paying off. These countries have entered into vital trade agreements with Iran and by deciding to drop the American dollar – and to a certain extent the euro – have opted for transactions in their respective currencies.
This means, Iran can sell its products including oil – which the stupid Trump had vowed to completely cut off from the world market – to not just the above mentioned countries, but also other states ignoring America’s extraterritorial pressures, such as Turkey, Iraq, etc.
It is interesting to note that even Turkey and Russia have decided to conduct trade deals in their respective countries by negating the US.
This means, the larger the amount of commercial transaction amongst these states, including Iran, the greater the loss for the US dollar, which, in other words, is being phased out of the international monetary system.
We certainly hope for the day when the American dollar will not be worth a dime and will be viewed by the whole world as a useless paper fit for the trashcan.
Meanwhile, the current visit to New Delhi of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has been hailed by the Indian media which sees Iran as a reliable supplier of oil and other products required by the Indian market.
The Islamic Republic also expects the Indian government to stand firm to its commitments, regardless of American pressures, since the US is nothing but a backstabber, which longs for nothing but hegemony, and the more any country buckles under Washington’s unjust demands, the tighter become the tentacles of Uncle Sam.
