Govt busts fake claim on India-Afghanistan trade suspension amid Iran unrest

The government on Tuesday dismissed as fake a letter circulating on social media that claimed India had temporarily suspended trade operations with Afghanistan due to the ongoing unrest in Iran, asking people not to share unverified content.

The clarification came after the Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking unit said the purported letter was being spread by Pakistani propaganda handles and had no basis in fact.

“A fabricated letter is being circulated… falsely claiming that India has temporarily suspended trade operations with Afghanistan due to escalating unrest in Iran. The letter is fake,” the PIB said in a post, urging citizens to rely only on official sources for authentic information.

India maintains trade ties with Afghanistan despite regional instability.

In 2024–25, India’s exports to Afghanistan stood at USD 318.91 million, while imports were aggregated at USD 689.81 million, official data showed.

The fake claim surfaced against the backdrop of widespread protests in Iran, triggered by economic hardship and public anger against the country’s leadership.

Rights groups say the unrest has been met with a harsh crackdown.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, more than 600 people have been killed and over 10,700 arrested in the past two weeks. Of those killed, 512 were protesters and 134 were members of the security forces, the group said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, said the situation was under control and blamed the violence on foreign interference.

“That’s why the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to give an excuse to the American president to intervene,” Araghchi said, in comments carried by Al Jazeera, accusing Israel and the United States of fuelling the unrest.

The protests have intensified pressure on Iran’s theocratic leadership as the country grapples with a weakened economy, soaring prices and high inflation. Authorities have imposed internet and telecommunications shutdowns in an attempt to curb demonstrations.

Iran is still reeling from a 12-day war launched by Israel in June that saw US forces bomb Iranian nuclear sites. Economic pressure mounted further in September after the United Nations reimposed sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme. The Iranian rial has since plunged to more than 1.4 million to the dollar, while food prices have surged and inflation remains around 40 per cent.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington would impose sweeping new tariffs on countries that do business with Iran, threatening a 25% levy on all trade with the United States as his administration escalates economic pressure on Tehran.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that “effective immediately,” any country doing business with Iran would face a 25 per cent tariff on “any and all business being done with the United States of America,” calling the order “final and conclusive.”

The White House has not released details on how the tariffs would be implemented or enforced. Trump also did not define what qualifies as “doing business” with Iran, raising questions about whether the measure would apply to goods, services or financial transactions, and which countries could be targeted.

India is already under scrutiny from Washington over its purchases of Russian oil and faces a cumulative 50% tariff from the US.