Aiden Davidson, also known as Hamed Aliabadi, pleaded guilty in federal court in New Hampshire to willfully evading national security restrictions on transactions with Iran. According to prosecutors, Davidson smuggled more than $100,000 worth of goods including motors, pumps, and valves from the United States to Iran between 2016 and 2017. He was the manager of U.S.-based Golden Gate International and used that company and a Turkish freight forwarder to evade U.S. restrictions. Davidson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17, 2020.
News Briefs
March 3, 2020
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published a report rebuking Iran for denying the agency access to two sites and for failing to answer questions about undeclared material and activities. The IAEA has observed activity that may suggest Iran is trying to sanitize traces of nuclear materials at one of the sites, and Iran has failed to answer the agency’s questions about whether natural uranium was used there. According to two senior diplomats, the sites in question are believed to have been active in the early 2000s. Iran told the agency that it is not obliged to answer allegations regarding past activities.
-- Reuters
February 27, 2020
The United States and Switzerland launched a humanitarian trade channel for companies to provide medical supplies, agricultural goods, and basic necessities to Iran without the risk of violating U.S. sanctions. By vetting deals, the governments aim to remove uncertainty and reassure companies that have been hesitant to do business with Iran. The United States hopes Iran will reciprocate the move by releasing five American detainees.
-- The Wall Street Journal
February 21, 2020
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Iran on its blacklist for failing to adopt terrorist financing conventions, calling on members to apply counter-measures against the country. Banks and companies still doing business with Iran will heighten scrutiny of their transactions, further isolating Iran from international markets and making it more difficult to attract investors. Some Iranian leaders advocated for Tehran to adopt the conventions to facilitate trade with foreign partners, while conservatives opposed the provisions as limitations on the country’s cooperation with allies like Hezbollah.
-- Reuters
February 19, 2020
According to two new reports by the United Nations and Conflict Armament Research, the gyroscopes recovered from the drones that targeted a Saudi Arabian oil facility in September 2019 match those found in Iranian manufactured drones. Additionally, the reports found that the gyroscopes used in Houthi arms match those found in Iranian weaponry. Similar gyroscopes were also found in weapons shipments bound for Yemen that were seized by the U.S. Navy. The findings further tie Iran to the attack on the Saudi oil industry and to the arming of Houthi rebels.
-- Associated Press
February 13, 2020
The United States Navy boarded a sailing vessel in the Arabian Sea and seized weapons believed to be linked to Iran, including 150 ‘Dehlavieh’ anti-tank guided missiles and three surface-to-air missiles. According to the military, the weapons are identical to those seized by another U.S. warship in November 2019. A UN resolution bans Iran from exporting weapons.
-- Reuters
February 13, 2020
U.S. federal prosecutors levied three new charges against Huawei in a superseding indictment, including for illicit activities in Iran. Prosecutors allege that Huawei established a shell company in Iran to purchase U.S. goods, technology, and services in order to evade U.S. sanctions, and that Huawei illegally employed an Iranian citizen. Prosecutors also allege that the company installed surveillance equipment for the Iranian government that allowed it to monitor, identify, and detain activists during anti-government protests in 2009.
-- NBC
February 12, 2020
The United States granted a 45-day sanctions waiver that allows Iraq to continue importing Iranian gas and electricity supplies. During the waiver period, Iraq is to present its plan for achieving gas independence from Iran, including steps to increase its domestic gas supply or find alternative power sources. The 45-day period may be extended once Iraq produces a technical timetable of the plan.
-- Associated Press
February 11, 2020
The U.S. Department of Justice charged five defendants in Texas and New York with conspiring to purchase Iranian oil and sell it to a Chinese refinery in violation of U.S. sanctions. The plan would have used a Polish shell company as a straw seller of the Iranian oil. Two defendants allegedly agreed to open offshore accounts with foreign passports, and defendant David Ray Lane offered to launder money through STACK Royalties, LLC. The defendants face a maximum sentence of 25 years and a fine of up to $1.25 million for counts of conspiracy and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
-- Reuters
February 9, 2020
Iran made an unsuccessful attempt to place its “Zafar 1” communications satellite into orbit during a launch from the Imam Khomeini Spaceport. According to Defense Ministry space program spokesman Ahmad Hosseini, the Simorgh rocket functioned properly during early stages of the launch, but failed to achieve the velocity needed to place the satellite into orbit. Iran experienced two failed satellite launches and a launchpad explosion in 2019. The United States contends that Iran’s satellite program assists in its ballistic missile development in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution.
-- Associated Press