In response to an attack on two of its military bases in Iraq, the United States blacklisted eight senior Iranian officials and imposed sanctions on Iran’s metals, construction, manufacturing, textiles, and mining sectors. The new metals sanctions target the top steel, aluminum, copper, and iron producers in Iran as well as foreign purchasers and transporters of Iranian steel. The Treasury Department also announced sanctions waivers to allow the United States and foreign countries to investigate the downing of a commercial Ukrainian airplane in Tehran.
News Briefs
January 8, 2020
Iran retaliated for the U.S. killing of General Qassem Soleimani by attacking two Iraqi military bases that house U.S. troops. The strikes were carried out using short-range ballistic missiles likely of the Qiam model and a variant of the Fateh-110. Elevan missiles landed at the Al Asad base and one struck the base at Erbil. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, tents, taxiways and a helicopter were damaged. No American or Iraqi personnel were killed in the strike.
-- Wall Street Journal
January 5, 2020
President Rouhani announced that Iran will further scale back its compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by surpassing limitations placed on the number of its uranium enrichment centrifuges. The regime indicated that these steps could be reversed if the United States lifted sanctions.
-- CNBC
January 2, 2020
The United States killed Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general and head of the Quds Force. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, it killed General Soleimani because he was actively planning to attack American diplomats and service members in the Middle East. The airstrike was conducted by an armed drone that struck Soleimani’s vehicle on an access road near the Baghdad International Airport. The attack also killed six others, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
-- Associated Press
December 29, 2019
The United States conducted airstrikes against five areas controlled by the Iranian proxy group Kataib Hezbollah in response to rocket attacks that killed an American contractor in Iraq. The operation targeted the group’s weapons storage facilities and command posts at two locations in Syria and three in Iraq. According to a Hezbollah military spokesman, 24 were killed and over 50 were wounded.
-- New York Times
December 27, 2019
Russia indicated that it will not support extending a UN arms embargo on Iran beyond the October 2020 expiration date stipulated in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran is already pursuing military supplies from Russia. Potential acquisitions include Su-30 fighters, Yak-130 trainers, and T-90 tanks. The embargo bans Iran from buying offensive weaponry, and the United States has warned that lifting it will threaten global security.
-- Bloomberg
December 23, 2019
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) reactivated a secondary circuit of its Arak heavy water reactor. The secondary circuit is responsible for transferring thermal energy from the reactor’s first circuit to the plant’s cooling towers. The reactor’s remaining systems will reportedly be completed in one year, with initial tests beginning in March 2021. The move did not violate international restrictions on Iran’s nuclear work.
-- Reuters
December 17, 2019
The United States has charged an Indonesian businessman and three companies based in Indonesia on eight counts related to violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Sunarko Kuntjoro, 68, allegedly conspired with the Iranian's Mahan Air and exported U.S.-origin goods to the company from March 2011 to July 2018 without the required licenses. Mahan Air was added to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list in 2011, and also appears on the Commerce Department’s Denied Persons List. The conspiracy allegedly involved transporting goods owned by Mahan Air through three companies, PT MS Aero Support (PTMS), PT Kandiyasa Energi Utama (PTKEU), and PT Antasena Kreasi (PTAK), for repair in the United States. The goods were then re-exported to Mahan Air in Iran and elsewhere. Penalties for these charges range from up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine to up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
-- U.S. Department of Justice
December 11, 2019
The United States sanctioned Shanghai-based ESAIL Shipping Company for transporting illicit materials from Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) and for working with Iranian companies under UN sanctions. New sanctions have also been placed on Mahan Air and three of its general sales agents for its alleged role in proliferating weapons of mass destruction. The United States has also sanctioned an Iranian shipping network for alleged smuggling of lethal aid to Yemen on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. The new sanctions on ESAIL and Mahan Air will take effect in June 2020, as will sanctions on Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).
-- Reuters
December 10, 2019
Iran is building underground tunnels for missiles and large-scale weapons at the Imam Ali military base in Eastern Syria, according to Western intelligence sources. The tunnel is assessed to be nearly 400 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 13 feet deep. It is believed to be in the final stages of construction. The assessment is based on analyses of open source satellite imagery conducted by intelligence officials.
-- Fox News