US sanctions on Iran threaten key trade project in Afghanistan

Trump's decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran is clouding Chabahar's viability as banks, nervous they could be hit with the crippling penalties, pull back from financing

US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear accord and re-impose sanctions on Tehran threatens to derail a project to help build Afghanistan's economy, endangering a key goal of the US strategy to end America's longest war.

The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan that could potentially open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut its dependence on Pakistan, its sometimes-hostile neighbour.

Building Afghanistan's economy would also slash Kabul's dependence on foreign aid and put a major dent in the illicit opium