India to sign port deal with Iran, ignoring US warning against haste

New Delhi

INDIA will push ahead this week with plans to build a port in south-east Iran, two sources said, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi keen to develop trade ties with Central Asia and prepared to fend off US pressure not to rush into any deals with Iran.

India and Iran agreed in 2003 to develop a port at Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, near Iran's border with Pakistan, but the venture made little progress because of Western sanctions on Iran.

Now, spurred by Chinese President Xi Jinping's signing of energy and infrastructure agreements with Pakistan worth US$46 billion, Mr Modi wants to swiftly …