Falcon Instrumentation and Machinery FZE, the Iranian partner in a conspiracy to export machinery from the United States to Iran without a license, was ordered to pay a $100,000 criminal fine in U.S. District Court on January 6. The company, formerly known as FIMCO, had pleaded guilty and also agreed to pay the Bureau of Industry and Security a civil penalty of $837,500 in July 2015. The conspiracy involved the export of bar peeling machinery worth $895,544 to Iran via transshipment through the United Arab Emirates. The Pennsylvania-based partner in the scheme, Hetran Inc., and its CEO, Helmut Oertmann, were previously sentenced to 12 months' probation in December 2014.
News Briefs
February 10, 2016
Chinese national Sihai Cheng was sentenced to nine years in U.S. federal prison for his role in conspiring to export American-made pressure transducers to Iran in violation of U.S. export laws. Charges against his Iranian co-conspirator, Seyed Abolfazi Shahab Jamili, were dropped as part of the prisoner exchange agreement with Iran on January 17. Cheng sold Jamili thousands of controlled goods with nuclear applications, including vacuum pressure valves, titanium sheets and tubes, and electronic switches.
-- Export Practitioner
February 10, 2016
Iranian Defense Minister General Hossein Dehghan announced that Iran will sign a contract with Russia to purchase Sukhoi-30 fighter jets. General Dehghan did not state how many planes Iran will buy nor when the contract will be finalized. The Russian-made Sukhoi-30 is said to be comparable to the American F-15E Strike Eagle.
-- Associated Press
January 16, 2016
The United States and European Union lifted sanctions on Iran's oil, financial, and other sectors on January 16, after the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran had dismantled major components of its nuclear program. Iran also received access to roughly $100 billion in frozen assets, while hundreds of Iranian entities were removed from the U.S., E.U., and U.N. blacklists. Iran's commitments under the nuclear deal included: shipping 98 percent of its low-enriched uranium to Russia; dismantling more than 12,000 centrifuges; and pouring cement into the core of the Arak reactor. In parallel to the implementation of the nuclear deal, the United States and Iran reached agreement on a prisoner exchange, which included the release of five Americans. In return, seven Iranians were released, and 14 others were removed from the Interpol wanted list.
-- New York Times
December 28, 2015
Iran shipped out 25,000 pounds of nuclear material, including most of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, to Russia on December 28, fulfilling a major requirement of the nuclear agreement. The shipment was technically part of a "fuel swap," with Iran receiving quantities of natural uranium, partly from Kazakhstan, in return. Under the nuclear agreement, Iran is permitted to retain only 300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium.
-- New York Times
December 15, 2015
The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors voted unanimously to close the Agency's investigation into Iran's alleged past nuclear weapons work on December 15. That investigation concluded that Iran had a coordinated nuclear-weapons related program until 2003 and that some weapons-related activities continued through 2009. The closure of the investigation keeps Iran on track to receive large-scale sanctions relief as part of the nuclear accord reached with six world powers in July.
-- Wall Street Journal
December 15, 2015
Iran's October 10 ballistic missile test violated a U.N. Security Council resolution, according to a confidential report issued by the U.N.'s Iran Sanctions Committee's Panel of Experts. The panel's report concluded that the launch of the medium-range Emad missile violated U.N. Security Council resolution 1929. The resolution bans Iranian launches of ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, which the panel considers to be missiles with a range of at least 300 km that are capable of delivering a 500 kg payload. The panel assessed that the Emad has a range of at least 1,000 km and a payload capacity of at least 1,000 kg.
-- Reuters
December 8, 2015
Iran conducted a test of its medium-range Ghadr-110 ballistic missile on November 21 near the city of Chabahar, according to a Western diplomatic source. The Ghadr-110, a variant of the Shahab-3, is a liquid-fueled ballistic missile with a reported range of 1,900 km (1,180 miles) and the capability to carry a nuclear warhead. United Nations Security Council resolution 1929, which remains in force until the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran, prohibits Iranian launches of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said the United States is conducting a serious review of the reported incident.
-- Reuters
December 2, 2015
The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) final report on Iran's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon concluded that Iran was actively designing a nuclear weapon until 2009. The report, issued on December 2, found that Iran had made a "coordinated effort" to design and test nuclear weapons components until 2003, and that some activities continued through 2009. The report was based on partial answers given by Iran to the IAEA's inquiries after the nuclear accord was finalized in July.
-- New York Times
November 28, 2015
Kenyan authorities arrested two Kenyan men with ties to Iran's Qods Force on suspicion of planning terror attacks in Nairobi. According to Kenya's Interior Ministry, the two men, Abubakar Sadiq Louw and Yassin Sambai Juma, were conspiring to attack Western targets in the Kenyan capital, including hotels. Louw, 69, who is suspected of working for the Qods Force, allegedly recruited Juma, 25, in Nairobi and arranged for him to travel to Iran and meet a Qods Force contact. Louw is a prominent member of Nairobi's Shi'ite Muslim community, the Interior Ministry said.
-- Reuters