The takeover of operations was done during the Chabahar Trilateral Agreement meeting between Indian, Iranian and Afghanistan's officials on December 24, India's Shipping Ministry said in a statement.
"This step marks the beginning of a long journey. India has written a history with its engagement in Chabahar and is now leading the regional cooperation and joint efforts to support land-locked Afghanistan," it said, the Times of India reported on Tuesday.
In 2016, India entered into the trilateral treaty with Iran and Afghanistan to develop a new transportation corridor connecting the three countries and other Central Asian Countries, bypassing Pakistan.
Chabahar provides India with an easier land-sea route to Afghanistan. In November, India sent its first cargo of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar in what appeared to be a run dry of a multi-modal connectivity route. The cargo was shipped from India’s western port of Kandla, unloaded at Chabahar and eventually taken to Afghanistan’s Nimroz province by trucks.
A rail link between Chabahar and Zahedan and thereon to Afghanistan is a crucial part of India’s ambitious extra-regional connectivity ambitions over which Tehran, New Delhi and Kabul have signed a basic agreement.