India, Feb. 2 -- A day after the Union Budget of India for 2026-27 did not allocate any funds for the Chabahar port project in Iran, strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney has said the Modi government's move may be "a tactical freeze rather than a strategic retreat" in the ongoing collab with Tehran amid threats and sanctions by the United States against the Islamic Republic.

"Chabahar Port is India's only viable route to Afghanistan and Central Asia that bypasses Pakistan. An Indian exit would almost certainly leave a vacuum for China to fill," Chellaney posted on X.

"The absence of funding for Chabahar in India's 2026-27 Budget may therefore reflect a tactical freeze rather than a strategic retreat, given Washington's April 26 dead...