The latest Trump tirade on Iran might cost India a key trade and maritime partner. For the Narendra Modi-led nation, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not only a key strategic player in West Asia’s maritime security, it is a bilateral trade companion is some of India’s strongest industries, such as agriculture.
Ever since 2015, Iran has been a key maritime partner for India. Back then, it began as an infrastructure deal, an MoU to partner on the development of Chabahar Port. By May of 2016, it elevated to a trilateral deal between India, Iran, and Afghanistan to establish the International Transport and Transit Corridor (Chabahar Agreement).
India was a key player in the phase-1 development of the Shahid Beheshti Terminal at Chabahar Port. Two years later, in 2018, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) took point on Chabahar Port operations. The IPGCFZ is a unit of the India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), a joint venture company formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Kandla Port Trust (KPT) as per the directives of the Union. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW).
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The maritime link between India and Iran is so intertwined that it is not something that New Delhi can simply detether because Washington threw a fit. Beyond maritime, Iran is also a key trade partner.
From rice to bananas: Iran’s key Indian imports
In 2025, according to the commerce ministry's recently updated trade statistics, India's merchandise trade with Iran stood at more than $1 trillion in exports and $323 million in imports. The trade balance in favour of India stood at a healthy $695 million during the calendar year.
The top export to Iran from India is cereals, especially rice. In calendar year 2025, Iran imported $649.4 million worth of rice from India (FY2024-2025 rice exports were at $757 million). Bananas are the next biggest export item for India to Iran, clocking $44.8 million in the past year, followed by tea at $43.8 million.
Top exports from Iran to India in 2025 included petroleum bitumen at $110 million and fresh apples at $60.4 million. India also imported $29 million worth of khayzur or wet dates from Iran.
And trade has been steady between the two partners. In 2023 and 2024, exports to Iran were in line with 2025 numbers, hovering around the $1.2 billion mark. Suffice to say, Iran has been a good partner for India for quite some time.
Trump’s latest announcement of slapping 25 per cent tariffs on countries trading with Iran is quite a troubling notion. The US already imposed 50 per cent tariffs on the country's exports to America. This included 25 per cent for India's purchases of Russian energy. Adding more tariffs on Indian goods could harm exporters, especially in labour-intensive sectors like textiles, which have already borne the brunt of earlier duties.
