New Delhi
26 May 2006
Although Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and his American
counterpart Nicholas Burns continued negotiations in London on the proposed civilian
nuclear cooperation, Washington has not yielded to New Delhi's request for lifting of
sanctions against an Indian nuclear scientist and two Indian companies.
On September 29, 2004 the United States imposed sanctions on Dr YSR Prasad under
sections two and three of the Iran Proliferation Act of 2000. On December 30 last year, it
invoked the same law to slap sanctions on Sabero Organics Gujarat Limited and
Sandhya Organics Limited.
The companies were sanctioned allegedly for supplying chemicals to Iran. Sources said
the one-time shipment of 90 tons of trimethyl phosphate two years ago by the Mumbai-
based Sabero Organics Gujarat Limited was as per Indian law and the guidelines under
the Chemical Weapons Convention were complied with.
The sources said the company did not enter into any further agreement with the Iranian
company called Raja Shimi. Trimethyl phosphite is a dual-use chemical notified under
the Schedule Three of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Some 150 countries are
signatories to it including India, Iran and the United States.
New Delhi has said that Dr YSR Prasad visited Iran under the aegis of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Cooperation Programme. He provided
consultancy on safety-related aspects connected with the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant
which is under IAEA safeguards. He had not visited Iran since mid-2003.
Washington, however, has maintained that the sanctions were based on "credible
evidence". The George W Bush Administration has said that the sanctions were an
important and effective tool in constraining Iran's efforts to develop missile and weapons
of mass destruction capabilities.
The sanctions bar the the US Government from doing business with these firms and
persons, including providing assistance to them or permitting participation in US
Government assistance programmes. They also prohibit all US Government sales of any
item on the US munitions list.
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