New Delhi
29 December 2005
The two Indian companies sanctioned by the United
States Government for supplying chemicals to Iran say the shipments
were as per Indian law and the guidelines under the Chemical Weapons
Convention were complied with.
The vice chairman of Mumbai-based Sabero Organics Gujarat Limited, Mr
Mohit Chuganee, said the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of
Chemicals and Fertilisers had found no discrepancy in the business
transaction.
Mr Smit repeat Smit Patel of Sandhya Organic Chemical Private Limited,
in turn, said he was surprised to learn about the imposition of the
sanctions despite adhering to all India laws and the relevant international
guidelines.
Mr Patel would not take more questions and chose to conclude his
remarks by stating that the supply of chemicals were not without the
approval of the government agencies concerned. However, Mr Chuganee
was more forthcoming.
"There had been extensive contacts with the Ministry of External Affairs
and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers before and after the one-
time shipment of 90 tons of trimethyl phosphite two years ago," Mr
Chuganee told this newspaper.
Mr Chuganee, however, acknowledged that the government did suggest
sometime ago that while the shipment was as per rules, politically it
would better if the business transaction was terminated and further
shipment discontinued with.
He said trimethyl phosphite was a dual-use chemical notified under the
Schedule Three of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Some 150
countries are signatories to the Convention including India, Iran and the
United States.
"We were in touch with both the director general of foreign trade (DGFT)
and the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals under the Ministry
of Chemicals and Fertilisers, which is the nodal agency designated under
the Chemical Weapons Convention," he said.
He said the Iranian company called Raja Shimi wanted to buy more
quanities of the chemical but he chose not to process the request. "The
[decision to exercise the] option was ours," he said, who is business for
the past decade.
Washington, meanwhile, maintained that the sanctions were based on
"credible evidence". State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli
said "[the sanctions are] an important and effective tool in constraining
Iran's efforts to develop missile and weapons of mass destruction
capabilities."
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