A 10-year contract between India and Iran aimed at developing the strategic port of Chabahar has angered the United States, with the Biden administration warning that trade cooperation with the Islamic Republic risks sanctions on India.

According to The Iran Project, "Those who are looking for business with Iran should know that they are exposing themselves to sanctions," Vedant Patel, Deputy Spokesman for US State Department said when he was asked by reporters on Monday that if Washington is against an agreement India has recently signed with Iran for the management of Chabahar port.

We are aware of these reports. The Indian government should speak for itself about its foreign policy, Patel said, adding that “our sanctions against Iran are in place and still being implemented”.

India has snubbed such warning and pressure in the past as it sees advantages in cooperating with Iran on energy and regional security.

Eight years after concluding the general framework of cooperation on the Chabahar port, India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract for its operation.

The agreement was signed in the presence of India’s Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Mehrdad Bazrpash, Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari stated that the Chabahar Agreement is aimed at expanding bilateral trade exchanges and it a good news for exporters and importers and transit of Iran and other Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Russia and the Caucasus.