U.S. Allows Exception to Iranian Sanctions for Port Construction

In a move some found surprising, the Trump administration is allowing a major exception to its economic sanctions against Iran that will allow port construction in a project being carried out by India and according to SecState Pompeo, to the benefit of Afghanistan. The official explanation offered by the State Department is that the port construction is part of building a corridor that will allow goods to reach war-torn Afghanistan in a boost to its economy. The intended goods that will be shipped through the new corridor are supposed to be limited to humanitarian goods that are excluded from sanctions like food and medicine, but State said the Afghanis will be excluded from the petroleum ban and will be allowed to purchase Iranian oil. The administration parsed that the port project will ultimately make Afghanistan less dependent on foreign aid and curtail the opium trade which will impact the Taliban’s finances.