Iran assures India that Chabahar Port project will continue

New Delhi: In the midst of spiralling tension between the US and Iran over the killing of an Iranian military commander, the Iranian Ambassador to India, Dr Ali Chegeni, has assured India that the joint Chabahar Port project between India and Iran would continue.

"Chabahar Port is a symbol of very good friendship between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe, whole Persian Gulf. It does not belong only to Iran and India. Chabahar will go on, don't worry about it" Chegani said.

"We are not looking for war. We are living in this region peacefully with our brothers and sisters including India. We don't want any tension/escalation in this region," he said.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Thursday said India has been in touch with key players including Iran, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar as it has important interests in the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is scheduled to visit India next week to attend the Raisina Dialogue, the flagship annual event of the external affairs ministry. Zarif will also hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his stay in Delhi.

"Peace, security and stability in the region is of utmost importance to us. We have important interests in the region and we would like the situation to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We are talking to several stakeholders in the region," Kumar said.

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and will see how it develops in the next few days," he said.