European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she supports designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, which some European Union member states have called for. The United Kingdom is also considering listing the IRGC as a terrorist group and is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks.
News Briefs
January 15, 2023
Iran's oil exports in averaged 1.137 million barrels per day in December, the highest figure for 2022, according to SVB International, a company that tracks Iran's oil trade. By some estimates, Iranian crude exports have reached their highest level since April 2019. China remains Iran's biggest customer.
-- Reuters
January 10, 2023
The U.S. Navy seized over 2,100 assault rifles aboard a dhow in the Gulf of Oman that it says came from Iran and were intended for Yemen's Houthi rebels. A spokesman for the Fifth Fleet said that the boat was following a route typically used for smuggling cargo to the Houthis and that the Yemeni crew "corroborated the origin" of the weapons. The seized rifles were Chinese- and Russian-made models.
-- Associated Press
January 9, 2023
Behrouz Mokhtari, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to two conspiracies to violate sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran. In one scheme, Mokhtari and his associates used multiple businesses in Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to provide services to Iranian entities in the petrochemical sector. His businesses were referred to as “the FSR Network” and included UAE-based Bitubiz FZE and Iran-based Ayegh Isfahan Manufacturing Company. In another scheme, Mokhtari created a Panama-based front company, East & West Shipping Inc., to purchase two tankers to transport petrochemical products on behalf of entities associated with the Iranian government. Mokhtari controlled the vessels through two companies - Greenline Shipholding Inc. and Russell Shipping Inc. - and processed payments using bank accounts held by another company he owned, Mori Construction.
-- U.S. Department of Justice
January 7, 2023
German police arrested an Iranian national living in Castrop-Rauxel, in western Germany, on the suspicion that he was preparing an "Islamist-motivated attack" involving chemical weapons. The suspect is believed to have procured cyanide and ricin in preparation for the attack, but it was unclear how far his plans had progressed.
-- The New York Times
December 30, 2022
Danfoss, a Danish company that manufactures and sells refrigeration products and air conditioners, has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury Department more than $4 million to settle its potential civil liability for more than two hundred apparent violations of U.S. sanctions. According to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), between 2013 and 2017, Danfoss's wholly-owned subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates, Danfoss FZCO, sold cooling and heating equipment to Iran, Syria, and Sudan and used third-party agents to receive payments for the sales. The violations occurred due to deficiencies in Danfoss's sanctions compliance program, according to OFAC.
-- Department of the Treasury
December 20, 2022
Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said that Russian companies are seeking to cooperate with Iran on the development and production of gas turbines. Russia is having trouble maintaining its gas power plants because foreign companies whose turbines are used in the plants have recently withdrawn or suspended operations, creating what Shulginov called "a large potential" for cooperation with Iran.
-- Reuters
December 14, 2022
The heads of Iran's and Russia's space agencies signed an agreement to increase space industry cooperation between the two countries. Future areas of collaboration may include the development of satellites, the construction of launch sites, and visits by Iranian astronauts to the Russian space station.
-- Islamic Republic News Agency
December 9, 2022
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Russia was training Iranian pilots on Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and that Iran could receive deliveries of the aircraft within the year. He also said Iran is considering setting up a drone assembly line in Russia and may transfer hundreds of ballistic missiles to Moscow.
-- Associated Press
December 3, 2022
Iran officially began construction on a 300-megawatt pressurized water reactor at Darkhovin in Khuzestan Province. According to Iranian officials, the project will rely on an indigenous design and is expected to take eight years to complete.
-- Tasnim News Agency