Govt seeks US relook on sanctions

‘‘No sale of materials, equipment and technologies was involved. No transfer of sensitive technology has taken place. The US government has been requested to review the assessment and withdraw the sanctions imposed,’’ a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said today.

Both Surendar and Prasad were the chairmen-cum-managing directors of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and retired in 2000. The two were shocked when they learnt of their inclusion in the list of 14 against whom the US Department of State had announced sanctions on Wednesday.

According to the MEA spokesperson, Surendar has never visited Iran while in service or after his retirement. As for Prasad, he added, the scientist had visited Iran during service but it was under the aegis of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) technical cooperation programme.

And after that, the spokesperson added, Prasad was a consultant on safety-related issues connected with the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which is within the IAEA safeguards. Prasad has not visited Iran after mid-2003, he said.

India has taken up the matter with the US at ‘‘several levels’’ during the past few days. ‘‘It has been conveyed that we do not share the US assessment,’’ the spokesperson said.

Apart from the two Indians, the US has also slapped sanctions on seven Chinese firms and companies from Belarus, North Korea, Russia, Spain and Ukraine for allegedly selling weapons or missile technology and equipment to Iran.

According to the notification, there was ‘‘credible information’’ that the 14 entities were ‘‘engaged in activities that require the imposition of measures…which provide for penalties for the transfer to Iran, since January 1, 1999, of equipment and technology controlled under multilateral export control lists or otherwise having the potential to make a material contribution to the development of weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missile systems’’.

According to sources, the US had passed on the information to India prior to going public with the announcement. However, the MEA spokesperson denied any knowledge of New Delhi having been intimated in advance.