An Indo-Iranian shipping company founded by Indira Ghandi and the late Shah of Iran has been forced into closure by Western sanctions on Iran.
The Associated Press reports that the Irano Hind Shipping Company, jointly owned by the two countries since 1974, was amongst the few international ventures to survive the 1979 Revolution and the following decades of economic and diplomatic pressure from the West.
The managing director of the company announced: “The fleet will be split between the two partners, and Irano Hind will cease operation.”
S. Hajara was quoted as saying: “Charters don’t want to take vessels that are under sanctions… The company is having difficulty deploying the vessels and that’s why the decision has been taken.”
India is one of Iran’s main trading partners, and the U.S. has made every effort in the past year to restrict those relations.
In May, the U.S. foreign secretary Hillary Clinton travelled to New Delhi to urge India to reduce its oil imports from Iran and replace them with Saudi crude.
