Iranian Entity: Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO)

www.iran-aio.com

Prv-126@cressnet.com

Leading industrial and military subsidiary of Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL - see separate entity record); oversees Iran's missile production.

Listed by the Japanese government in 2009 as an entity of concern for proliferation relating to missiles; listed by the British government in 2009 as an entity of potential concern for WMD-related procurement; listed by the European Union on April 24, 2007, as an entity linked to Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or Iran's development of nuclear weapon delivery systems; with some exceptions, and within their jurisdiction, European Union member states must freeze all funds and economic resources owned, held or controlled by the listed entity, and must also ensure that funds or economic resources are not made available to or for the benefit of the listed entity; added on June 29, 2005 to the Specially Designated National (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems; listed as an entity of concern for military procurement activities in an early warning document distributed by the German government to industry in July 2005; the German government urged caution when initiating commercial dealings with this entity, and suggested that all purchases by this entity must be assumed to serve military aims unless the contrary can be shown by specific and verifiable means.

Reportedly responsible for developing the surface-to-surface Sejjil missile, a two-stage solid-propellant ballistic missile; reportedly produces Ra'ad maritime cruise missiles, and Raad-T anti-tank guided weapons; reportedly developed an upgraded version of the Fadjr-5 unguided surface-to-surface artillery rocket system; manufactures Noor and Kosar anti-ship missiles, Toophan and Tosan 1 anti-tank missiles, Sayyad 1, Mishag 1 (a.k.a. Mishagh 1), and Shahab Sagheb air defense missiles, and Shahab 1, 2, and 3 ballistic missiles; reportedly manufactures Toophan 2 anti-tank missiles, and developed a more advanced Toophan guidance set (MGS-2) with improved ability to counter electro-optical jammers; manufactures gyroscopes, propellants, warheads for rockets and missiles and other missile components; manufactures Haseb, Nader, Oghab, Noor, S24, Saegheh, Fateh, Zelzal, and Nazeat rockets; manufactures launchers and anti-aircraft guns; provides Scud missiles restoration; reportedly developing an improved variant of the Sayad-1 surface-to-air missile, fitting the missile with an infrared seeker, and produces Sayad 2 anti-aircraft missiles; expertise in precision machining, metal forming, environmental testing, dimensional measurement, and heat treatment and coating.

Reportedly controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC - see separate entity record); sister organizations include: Defense Industries Organization (DIO), Aviation Industries Organization (AvIO), and Iran Electronics Industries (see separate entity records); IHSRC (Iranian Helicopter Support and Renewal Industries - see separate entity record) is reportedly a daughter company; reportedly contains an Air Defense Industries Group and a Naval Defense Unit.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, subsidiaries, subordinates, and front companies have been involved in purchasing millions of dollars worth of equipment on behalf of AIO for the development of Iran's missile program.

Subordinate entities include Sanam Industrial Group (Sanam Industries Group), Ya Mahdi Industries Group, Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group (SBIG) and reportedly Parchin Missile Industries (see separate entity records) and CSIG; additional subsidiaries include: SANAM Electronic Industries, Electro SANAM Industries, Techno SANAM Industries, Sh. Motahari Industries, Sh. Shahabadi Industries, and Sh. Babaie Industries (see separate entity records).

Front companies include: Electro Sanam Company, Ettehad Technical Group, Joza Industrial Co., Safety Equipment Procurement (Pejman Industrial Services), and 3M Mizan Machinery Manufacturing (see separate entity records); firms that have been cited in connection with import and export operations for AIO include: Helal Co., Shian Co. (see separate entity records), and Industrial Factories of Precision (IFP) Machinery (Fajr Industrial Group - see separate entity record).

Affiliated factories, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), include: Missile Center of Saltanat-Abad, Vanak Missile Center, Parchin Missile Industries factories, Baqeri base factories 1, 2 and 3, Tabriz Bakeri base factory, Bakeri Missile Industries factory, Hemmat Missile Industries factory, Bagh Shian (Almehdi) Missile Industries, Shah-Abadi Industrial Complex, Khajir Complex, Baqerololum Missile Research Center, Mostafa Khomeini base factory, and the Qadiri Base factory.

Collaborated with Malek Ashtar University (see separate entity record) to set up a missiles training course in 2003; supported by Bank Sepah (see separate entity record), which has processed dozens of multi-million dollar transactions for AIO and its subordinates; in 2005, used Bank Sepah to transfer over half a million dollars to a North Korean firm associated with Komid (Changgwang Sinyong Corporation - see separate entity record), which was designated by the United States for providing Iran with missile technology.

Key AIO-linked persons identified by the European Union on August 8, 2008 include: Brigadier-General Mohammad Naderi (Head - see separate entity record) and Mojtaba Haeri (MODAFL Deputy of Industry Engineer with a supervisory role over the organization - see separate entity record); additional key persons identified in an annex to U.N. Security Council resolution 1737 of December 23, 2006 include: Ahmad Vahid Dasjerdi (Head), Bahmanyar Morteza Bahmanyar (Head of the Finance and Budget Department), and Reza-Gholi Esmaeli (Head of Trade and International Affairs Department) (see separate entity records); reportedly the missile program has been supervised by Revolutionary Guard chief Mohamed Ali Jaafari Sahrourdi; reported director, Reza Taqipour.