Iran unveiled the fourth generation of its Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile, dubbed Kheibar. The liquid-fueled missile has a re-entry vehicle capable of making mid-course maneuvers and can deliver a 1,500 kilogram warhead to a range of 2,000 kilometers.
News Briefs
May 25, 2023
May 17, 2023
The Russian state-owned bank VTB opened a representative office in Iran. The Iranian government is also planning to allow consumers to use Russia's Mir card payment system within Iran. Russian state-owned Promsvyazbank is already present in Iran. Sberbank, another large Russian financial institution, discussed strengthening its ties with Iran but has not yet entered the Iranian market.
-- Reuters
May 16, 2023
A U.S. federal court unsealed an indictment against Chinese national Xiangjiang Qiao, also known as Joe Hansen, charging him with sanctions evasion, money laundering, and bank fraud. According to court documents, Qiao is an employee of the China-based company Sinotech Dalian Carbon and Graphite Manufacturing Corporation (Sinotech Dalian) and an associate of Li Fangwei, also known as Karl Lee. Qiao is accused of supplying isostatic graphite to Iran between March 2019 and September 2022 and using front companies to conceal Sinotech Dalian's involvement.
-- U.S. Department of Justice
May 15, 2023
Russia has received more than 400 unmanned aerial vehicles from Iran since August 2022 and is seeking more advanced versions, according to U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. In return, Iran is seeking helicopters, radars, and combat trainer aircraft. According to Kirby, the United States has not seen evidence of Iranian ballistic missile transfers to Russia.
-- Wall Street Journal
May 11, 2023
U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said that Iran is still supplying arms and drugs to Yemen despite a March agreement restoring diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The conflict in Yemen is widely seen as a proxy fight between the two regional rivals.
-- Reuters
May 2, 2023
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) prevented the illegal export of two aircraft engines to Iran. According to the SBU, the scheme was organized by two owners of a Dnipro-based company specializing in cargo transportation to countries in the Middle East and Africa. The conspirators allegedly planned to falsely declare the engines as gas pipeline components in their export paperwork. According to the SBU, the engines had been stolen during the liquidation of a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise and the intended Iranian customers planned to use them in an Antonov An-74 military transport aircraft.
-- Interfax-Ukraine
April 28, 2023
The U.S. Department of Justice seized the Suez Rajan, an oil tanker loaded with Iranian crude and destined for China, under a court order. The Suez Rajan is owned by Fleetscape, an affiliate of the U.S.-based firm Oaktree Capital. Oaktree Capital denied that it or Fleetscape had an ownership interest in the vessel's cargo. Days later, Iran detained the Advantage Sweet, an oil tanker bound for the United States, in the Gulf of Oman.
-- Financial Times
April 24, 2023
Over the past six months, Russian ships have transported more than 300,000 artillery shells and a million rounds of ammunition from Iran to Russia through the Caspian Sea. According to officials in the Middle East, the most recent such shipment included 1,000 containers with 2,000 artillery shells on board the Rasul Gamzatov, a Russian cargo ship owned by the shipping company MG-FLOT, formerly known as TransMorFlot LLC. Publicly available shipping data showed that the vessel transited from Bandar Amirabad, Iran, to Astrakhan, Russia, between March 8 and March 14, and then made another trip in late March.
-- Wall Street Journal
April 18, 2023
Two companies, Taiwan-based DES International Co. Ltd. and Brunei-based Soltech Industry Co. Ltd., pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions and export control laws. The companies have directors and employees in common and worked together to procure U.S.-origin goods, including a power amplifier and cybersecurity software, on behalf of an Iranian research center. Both were sentenced to pay a fine of $83,769 and to serve a five-year term of corporate probation.
-- Department of Justice
April 12, 2023
Iran funneled military equipment into Syria disguised as humanitarian aid shipments following the February earthquake in Syria and Turkey, according to Syrian, Iranian, Israeli, and Western sources. The supplies included communications equipment, radar batteries, and spare parts to upgrade Syria's air defense system. An Israeli defense official said the shipments were organized by a unit of the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force and delivered to the Aleppo airport. Iran denied the claims.
-- Reuters