E-Paper
Two Indian men in list of US sanctions
The US has slapped sanctions against 14 firms and individuals for selling missiles or arms technology to Iran.
Two Indian men are among 14 foreign firms and individuals that the United States has slapped sanctions against for "selling missiles or weapons of mass destruction technology" and equipment to Iran.
The two Indian men, C. Surendar and YSR Prasad, would, along with the others mentioned in the list, be barred from doing business with the US government or buying US high-tech equipment for two years. The sanctions were announced by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher Wednesday.
Apart from the two Indian men, there are seven firms from China and one firm each from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, North Korea and Spain.
The sanctions were the most sweeping ones to date under the Iran Non-proliferation Act 2000. The decision about the imposition of sanctions was carried in the US government's official journal, the Federal Register, and was later confirmed by the State Department.
The penalties were imposed for the transfer 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," Boucher told reporters.
"There was credible information that these entities had transferred one of several categories of items to Iran since January of 1999," Boucher said adding that 23 companies and individuals were now subject to similar sanctions.
The sanctions include a bar on the firms and individuals doing business with the US government, a ban on US assistance and the automatic denial of US export licences to them, he said.
Boucher would not elaborate on the specifics of the alleged sales.
The sanctions apply only to companies and individuals and not their host governments, except in the case of North Korea, where the company cited is effectively part of that government, Boucher said in reply to a question.
Several of the firms identified Wednesday have been cited for violating US export laws before, including China's North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) and the Changgwang Sinyong Corporation of North Korea, which is the export outlet for that country's military establishment.
