New Delhi : Ayatollah Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, met with a group of Iranian and Indian businesspeople, economic stakeholders, and private-sector representatives during his visit to New Delhi.
The discussion centered on the existing potential and opportunities for deepening economic and trade cooperation between Iran and India. Business leaders from both countries exchanged views on how to broaden bilateral relations, clear away obstacles, ease trade and investment flows, and further strengthen the economic relationship.
Speaking at the meeting, Mohseni-Eje’i stressed the importance of building stronger economic ties between the two countries, making full use of existing capacities to expand cooperation, and working to dismantle trade barriers between Iran and India.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of Mohseni-Eje’i’s visit to New Delhi, where he is attending a gathering of senior judicial officials from BRICS member states.
A relationship with deep roots, tested by present-day pressures
India and Iran’s ties are often described as civilizational, with connections dating back nearly 3,000 years, according to Iranian officials — but the modern relationship has increasingly been shaped by the Chabahar port project and the geopolitical pressures surrounding it. India signed a 10-year agreement in 2024 to operate and manage the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar, envisioned as a trade corridor to Afghanistan and Central Asia that bypasses Pakistan, and India has completed its $120 million financial commitment to the project.
However, the partnership has run into headwinds from U.S. sanctions on Iran. Washington had granted India a conditional waiver for its Chabahar involvement, but that waiver was set to expire around April 2026, and India’s 2026-27 budget notably dropped funding allocations for the port, reflecting the difficulty of sustaining the project under sanctions pressure. Indian officials have said they remain engaged with the U.S. to work out arrangements going forward, while also monitoring threats of additional tariffs on countries trading with Iran.
On trade more broadly, bilateral commerce between the two countries has been valued at around $1.6 billion, with Indian exports significantly outweighing imports from Iran. Despite the sanctions-related friction, Iranian officials have continued to express optimism about deepening ties, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to India for the BRICS Summit has been seen as a further opportunity to renew momentum in the relationship — a backdrop that gives added context to Mohseni-Eje’i’s own outreach to business communities on this visit.