President Obama issued an executive order freezing all assets of Iranian government and financial institutions that are under U.S. jurisdiction. The executive order, issued as a response to what President Obama cited as “deceptive practices” by the Central Bank of Iran in hiding transactions of sanctioned parties, blocks all property that belongs to the Iranian government, the Central Bank of Iran, and all of Iran’s financial institutions.
News Briefs
February 6, 2012
-- Bloomberg
February 4, 2012
Iran announced the beginning of mass production of the Zafar, a short-range anti-ship naval cruise missile. At a ceremony, the first supply of the new missile was presented to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
-- Fars News Agency
February 3, 2012
Iran successfully launched its third domestically made research satellite into space. The satellite, named Navid-e Elm and San'at and weighing about 50 kg, was launched using the Safir rocket into a 375 km orbit. The satellite, manufactured by Iran University of Science and Technology, is designed to collect data on weather conditions and to monitor for natural disasters.
-- Mehr News
January 27, 2012
Seyed Mojtaba Atarodi, a 54-year-old Iranian microchip expert and assistant professor at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, was arrested in the United States and charged with buying high-tech scientific instruments in violation of U.S. export control laws. Atarodi was detained on December 7 in Los Angeles as he stepped off a plane, and is in custody at a federal facility in Dublin, California.
-- Associated Press
January 23, 2012
The European Union agreed to impose a phased ban on oil purchases from Iran. E.U. countries may not sign new oil contracts with Iran and existing oil contracts must end by July 1, 2012. The ban includes imports of crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemical products, and exports of major equipment and technology in the petroleum sector. Within the E.U., assets of Iran's Central Bank will be frozen.
-- New York Times
January 20, 2012
Turkish officials reportedly seized four Iranian trucks bound for Syria containing parts to make ballistic missiles. The cargo, which was listed as being shipped from a company in Tehran called Rock Chemie, reportedly included four large cylindrical tanks measuring six meters in length, heat resistant materials, and 66 tons of sodium sulfate. Shipping documents listed the cargo as tanning chemicals. The trucks were held while Turkish authorities examined the seized materials.
-- Taraf Online
January 11, 2012
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a 32-year-old nuclear scientist working at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, was killed on January 11. According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, Mr. Roshan was deputy director of commercial affairs at Natanz in charge of procurement. Mr. Roshan is one of five known scientists with connections to Iran’s nuclear program to be killed since 2007. These deaths are allegedly part of a covert campaign of assassinations carried out by Israel and intended to set back Iran's nuclear program.
-- New York Times
January 10, 2012
Iran has started enriching uranium up to 20 percent at the Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant near the city of Qom, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Located south of Tehran, the Fordo facility is a fortified nuclear site built into the side of a mountain.
-- Bloomberg
January 6, 2012
Iran successfully test fired the Qader anti-ship cruise missile during a 10-day naval exercise in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, according to Iran's Fars news agency. During the exercise, codenamed 'Velayat 90,' Iran also test-fired both the Nasr, a shorter-ranged anti-ship missile, and the Mehrab, a naval surface-to-air missile. Both the Qader and the Mehrab are reported to be designed with radar-absorbent coatings.
-- Jane's Missiles and Rockets
January 4, 2012
President Barack Obama signed into law sanctions penalizing foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank. Part of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, the sanctions target anyone doing business with Iran's central bank, Bank Markazi. Some measures will begin to take effect in 60 days. Other measures, including those involving transactions from "governments purchasing Iranian oil and selling petroleum products," won't take effect for at least six months.
-- Wall Street Journal