Three men have pled guilty to charges related to the sale of a dual-use, commercial-grade computer equipment to Iran. The group originally bought a computer storage system from Hitachi Data Systems but were refused technical support after the company suspected the equipment would be sent to an unauthorized user. The men then formed a new company to purchase an identical system and obtain the needed service. After that order was seized, the conspirators attempted to use a Brazilian company to make purchases from a Hitachi reseller. The men are Mohammad Reza "Ray" Hajian, John Alexander Tally, and Randy Dale Barber. All three individuals agreed to cooperate with authorities as part of their plea deal. According to a January 2014 indictment, the men worked with an Iranian businessman named Mahmoud Akbari (also known as John Wassermann) and an Iranian engineer named Reza Hajigholamali.
News Briefs
March 9, 2014
Israel intercepted a ship in the Red Sea that was carrying Iranian weapons bound for Gaza. The arms seized from the Klos C, a freighter, included 40 M-302 rockets, 180 120 mm mortar shells, and about 400,000 7.62 mm bullets. The M-302 rockets, which have a range of 90 to 160 km, were originally flown from Syria to Iran and then loaded onto the freighter at the port of Bandar Abbas. The ship was heading to Port Sudan, where Israeli officials believe Iran's Quds Force planned to smuggle the rockets into Gaza.
-- The Jerusalem Post
March 5, 2014
Iran has delivered improved versions of the Qadr H, Qiam, Fateh 110, and Khalij-e Fars (Persian Gulf) missiles to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC). Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said the missiles have improved guidance systems and can evade radar. The Khalij-e Fars is a solid-fuel missile that can carry a 650 kg payload to a range of 300 km, according to Iranian defense officials. It is claimed to be the IRGC Navy's most advanced missile.
-- Fars News
February 25, 2014
A U.S. cyber-security firm reports that the Stuxnet virus may have first entered Iran's Natanz nuclear facility through computer components that were interdicted and infected by the United States, before being sent on to Iran. According to the report, American intelligence agencies identified the Iranian company NEDA Industrial Group as the primary integrator of Natanz's industrial control system and as Iran's leading expert in Siemens Step7 software. This software is used throughout Iran's nuclear program, including at centrifuge plants. U.S. officials then proceeded to interdict computerized components ordered by NEDA and infected them with the Stuxnet virus. The report was prepared by Critical Intelligence, a U.S. cyber security firm. NEDA was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in December 2012 for its involvement in the Iranian nuclear program.
-- The Christian Science Monitor
February 24, 2014
Two Israeli men were arrested by Israeli authorities on charges of trying to smuggle F-4 fighter parts to Iran, via Greece. Greek officials, who investigated the shipment in cooperation with U.S. Department of Homeland Security, intercepted the cargo in December 2012 and April 2013. The components were shipped from Binyamina-Givat Ava, north of Haifa, to an Athens-based front company called Tassos Karras SA. The two Israeli suspects, Eli Cohen and Avichai Weinstein, have both been investigated for arms trafficking with Iran in the past.
-- United Press International
February 19, 2014
German authorities arrested a German-Iranian man, Dr. Ali Reza B., on charges of providing Iran with components for its missile program. The equipment, worth nearly $315,000, included dual-use items such as vacuum pumps and valves. The parts were allegedly delivered to Iran via a company in an unidentified "neighboring Arab country" in 12 shipments from 2011 to 2013.
-- The Times of Israel
February 13, 2014
Iran announced that it tested a new ballistic missile known as the "Barani." This missile is equipped with submunition payloads to better evade enemy missile defense systems and attack multiple targets simultaneously. Iran also displayed its new "Bina" missile, which appears to be a U.S. AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile fitted with a laser seeker.
-- Jane's Defence Weekly
February 12, 2014
The International Monetary Fund issued a report highlighting weaknesses in the Iranian economy stemming from both government mismanagement and economic sanctions. The IMF estimates inflation in Iran dropped from a 45 percent annualized rate in July 2013 to below 30 percent in December 2013, and predicts that Iran's economy will grow by one to two percent this year. The study was the IMF's first on-the-ground examination of the Iranian economy in about three years.
-- New York Times
February 3, 2014
Iran displayed two satellites developed by researchers at Malek Ashtar University. "Tadbir" (Wisdom) is an improved version of the "Navid-e Elm-o-Sanat" (The Promise of Science and Industry) satellite, with upgraded imagery resolution. The "Khalij-e-Fars" (Persian Gulf) satellite supports secure wireless communications.
-- Iranian Student News Agency
January 29, 2014
A three-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a "managed inspection" of Iran's Gchine uranium mine near the city of Bandar Abbas. The visit was one of six steps Iran agreed to under a November 2013 agreement with the Agency. The IAEA last visited the site in 2005.
-- Reuters