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.
News Briefs
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
November 15, 2015
Iran has started decommissioning centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility, according to Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. In a November 15 interview, Salehi said that Iran is in the process of decommissioning inactive centrifuges at Natanz. There are about 20,000 total centrifuges at Natanz, of which about 10,000 are inactive. Salehi said Iran has not yet decommissioned any active centrifuges at Natanz nor any centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear facility.
-- Iranian Students News Agency
November 9, 2015
Russia announced on November 9 that it will start deliveries of the S-300 air defense system to Iran by the end of 2016. Sergey Chemesov, chief executive of the state-run Russian Technologies corporation, said that the contract between Russia and Iran for delivery of the S-300 surface-to-air missile complex had been signed. The announcement ends a legal dispute between the two countries. The sale was initially agreed to in 2007, but Russia blocked delivery of the system in 2010 in response to political pressure from the United States. Iran had responded with a $4 billion legal claim against Rosoboronexport.
-- Financial Times
November 4, 2015
Deutsche Bank agreed on November 4 to pay fines totaling $258 million and fire six employees to settle charges that the bank violated U.S. sanctions laws. Between 1999 and 2006, the German bank conducted 27,200 transactions, totaling over $10.86 billion, for customers in Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Syria, and Sudan. According to regulators, bank employees developed methods to shield the transactions from scrutiny. Deutsche Bank will pay $200 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services and $58 million to the Federal Reserve.
-- New York Times
October 25, 2015
Mozaffar Khazaee, a former engineer for Pratt & Whitney and other defense contractors, was sentenced to 97 months in prison for attempting to export sensitive information about the U.S. Air Force's F-35 and F-22 fighter jet programs to Iran. The dual U.S.-Iranian citizen had pleaded guilty in February to violating the Arms Control Export Act. The 61-year-old was accused of offering to trade the sensitive U.S. military information he had stolen from his employers in exchange for employment at state-run technical universities in Iran.
-- Associated Press
October 21, 2015
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, conditionally endorsed the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and six major world powers in July. In a letter to addressed to President Hassan Rouhani on October 21, Khamenei specified nine conditions for the implementation of the deal. Specifically, the modification of the Arak heavy water reactor and Iran's exchange of enriched uranium for yellowcake will not begin until the International Atomic Energy Agency closes the case on the "possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program. The Supreme Leader also called upon the Supreme National Security Council to study and develop a plan for Iran's nuclear industry to achieve 190,000 SWUs (Separative Work Units enrichment capacity) over the next 15 years.The Supreme Leader's letter comes after Iran's Parliament and Guardian Council both approved the agreement earlier in October.
-- Fars News Agency
October 16, 2015
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run media corporation, broadcast footage for the first time on October 15 of what the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) states is one of Iran's underground missile bases. According to the Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the military site is 500 meters (1,600 feet) underground and is one of the country's many missile bases. Commander Hajizadeh also said that a new generation of advanced ballistic missiles will replace Iran's current generation of missiles next year.
-- Tasnim News Agency
October 15, 2015
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced on October 15 that the Agency had completed its investigation into Iran's alleged past nuclear weapons work and that Iran had provided the IAEA with the cooperation necessary for its inquiry by the agreed-upon deadline. The Agency is set to issue its complete report on the investigation by December 15.
-- Reuters
October 11, 2015
Iran’s Defense Ministry announced the successful test of a new ballistic missile on October 11. According to Iranian Defense Minister, Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, the new missile, called the Emad, is an Iranian designed missile with precision-strike capabilities. In his statement, Dehqan singled out the contributions of the scientists and experts of the Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) of the Defense Ministry.
-- Fars News Agency