India-Iran foreign relations:

• India and Iran share friendly relations with each other, despite India not supporting the 1979 revolution. 
• Iran is the second-largest crude oil supplier to India. And, India is the largest investor in Iran’s oil and gas industry.
• Both countries support the anti-Taliban government in Afghanistan, backed by the United States. 
• Partnership with Iran extends to infrastructure development, energy, connectivity, and education as well. 
• Iran frequently objected to Pakistan’s attempts to draft anti-India resolutions at various international organizations. 
• India welcomed Iran’s inclusion as an observer state in the SAARC regional organization.

Significance of Chabahar port:

• Chabahar is a deep-sea port located in the Sistan-Baluchistan area of Iran at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman. 
• Chabahar port is a strategically located port because it provides direct access to the Indian Ocean, enabling bypassing of Strait of Hormuz, a traditional choke point that separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.
• Chabahar port has been jointly financed by India and Iran. India is helping in building the port to get access to oil and gas resources in Iran and central asian countries. 
• Chabahar lies outside the Persian Gulf and can be easily accessed from India’s western coast.
• Chabahar, therefore, provides a Strategic edge to India.
• Iran has agreed on a three-nation pact to build a transport-and-trade corridor through Afghanistan that could help halve the time and cost of doing business. 
• Developing the Chabahar port is seen as crucial for India because it will not only allow New Delhi to bypass Pakistan and access global markets but also counter China’s expanding influence in the Indian Ocean region. 
• From Chabahar port, the existing Iranian road network can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan.
• It will open up route to landlocked Afghanistan where India has developed close security ties and economic interests. 
• India’s increased presence in the region would also enable her to become a significant player in the Middle-East. 
• With the Chabahar Port agreement, India has not only engaged with India’s long-term ally Iran but has broken through the strategic encirclement by China and Pakistan.