In late August, Iran restarted production at a centrifuge manufacturing plant that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been unable to monitor since it was damaged in an alleged act of sabotage in June. According to Western diplomats, the Karaj plant has produced parts for at least 170 of Iran's advanced centrifuges since production resumed. The centrifuges built with those parts have been installed at the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, according to the diplomats.
News Briefs
November 16, 2021
-- The Wall Street Journal
November 12, 2021
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has had only technical discussions with Iran's nuclear chief and no high-level contact with the Raisi government since it was elected in June, according to IAEA chief Raphael Grossi. Grossi visited Iran in September but the IAEA was blocked from accessing an important centrifuge plant. Grossi wants to visit Iran again for a high-level meeting before the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on November 22nd.
-- Deutsche Welle
November 10, 2021
An oil tanker that had been seized by Iran on October 24th was released on November 10th. The Vietnamese-flagged tanker, the MV Sothys, had been captured by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy boats and brought to Bandar Abbas while a U.S. Navy destroyer observed but did not intervene. Iran drained the tanker's cargo of oil and released it afterward. Non-governmental groups suspected that the MV Sothys had been involved in smuggling Iranian oil, which Iranian media appeared to corroborate when announcing the tanker's release.
-- Associated Press
November 10, 2021
Chinese refineries imported an average of 560,000 bpd of crude oil from Iran between August and October, a rebound from lower imports during June and July. The high demand was due to increased import quotas set by Beijing and discounted Iranian oil prices at a time when global oil prices are high. Buying Iranian oil can expose Chinese businesses to U.S. secondary sanctions, but according to a U.S. official the United States has not enforced these sanctions on Chinese companies while negotiations over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) continue.
-- Reuters
November 5, 2021
Iran has increased its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium to 210 kilograms and its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium to 25 kilograms, according to an Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesperson. Two days prior, on November 3rd, Iran, the European Union, and the United States announced that negotiations to return Iran and the United States to compliance with the JCPOA will resume in Vienna on November 29.
-- Associated Press
November 4, 2021
On October 24, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy vessels seized a Vietnamese oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and escorted it into Iranian waters near Bandar Abbas. A U.S. Navy destroyer was nearby during the incident. Iranian state media reported that U.S. warship had captured the tanker, the MV Sothys, and the IRGC freed it. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that IRGC forces unlawfully captured the MV Sothys while the U.S. Navy vessel observed but did not engage. Satellite imagery and analysis by non-governmental groups indicated that the MV Sothys had previously called at Iranian ports and possibly carried Iranian oil. A Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that Vietnam had sought information from Iran about the incident and the status of the vessel and its crew.
-- Associated Press
October 29, 2021
The U.S. Treasury Department targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s drone program with sanctions on October 29. The Treasury Department claimed that the IRGC has supplied armed drones to groups in Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. The new sanctions, on senior IRGC officers and companies supplying drone components to the IRGC, preceded a meeting between U.S. President Biden and his counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue. Iran had said earlier that it planned to rejoin nuclear negotiations in Vienna in late November.
-- Associated Press
October 25, 2021
U.S. officials have accused Iran of orchestrating and supplying materials for a drone attack launched against U.S. and coalition forces in Syria in mid-October. While the drones were not launched from Iran, according to the officials, they were Iranian-made and Iran allegedly "faciliated" their use. U.S. and coalition troops use the al-Tanf base to train local forces and conduct counter-ISIS operations. The attack, which used as many as five explosive-packed drones, did not cause any injuries or deaths.
-- Associated Press
October 25, 2021
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on October 25 that Iran plans to feed 20% enriched uranium into additional centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment plant. While this process would normally produce high-enriched uranium (HEU) of greater than 20% purity, the IAEA said Iran is not preserving the HEU. Instead, it is reportedly mixing the HEU with waste and disposing of it. Iran is likely taking these steps to study the enrichment process. Iran began the process on October 25 using one IR-6 centrifuge, according to the IAEA.
-- Reuters
October 22, 2021
A U.S. appellate court ruled that Halkbank, a Turkish bank, is not shielded from criminal charges related to a $20 billion Iran sanctions evasion scheme that took place between 2011 and 2015. The October 22 ruling comes after the bank argued its conduct was protected by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The court found that the Act exempts crimes committed during commercial activity, so prosecutors may proceed with criminal charges first pressed in 2019. Earlier criminal cases against the individuals who used Halkbank to channel funds to Iran, Reza Zarrab and Mehmet Hakan Atilla, resulted in guilty pleas and convictions.
-- Associated Press