The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran has begun installing more advanced IR-2 centrifuges at its Natanz facility. This centrifuge is based on Pakistan's second-generation model, but has been modified by Iran: its rotor is made of carbon fiber rather than high-strength steel. According to the IAEA, Iran has also installed an additional 2,255 older centrifuges at Natanz.
News Briefs
February 13, 2013
Iran attempted to procure 100,000 ring-shaped magnets from China in 2011, according to purchase orders obtained by nuclear researchers. The magnets are made of barium strontium ferrite and their dimensions appear to match those used in Iran's IR-1 gas centrifuge. The magnets are on a U.N. list of goods Iran is prohibited from importing. It is unclear whether this procurement attempt succeeded.
-- Washington Post
February 6, 2013
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a number of Iranian entities responsible for human rights abuses and restrictions on free speech, including Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), and its director Ezatollah Zarghami, the Iranian Cyber Police, the Communications Regulatory Authority, and Iran Electronics Industries (IEI). Treasury also announced the implementation of new restrictions on Iran's ability to repatriate earnings from oil sales.
-- New York Times
February 6, 2013
Shahab Ghasri, 31, was found guilty and given a three-month suspended jail sentence in Lund, Sweden, for violating international sanctions against Iran. The Swedish national, of Iranian decent, was accused of attempting to sell 11 advanced valves to Iran, and to evade international sanctions by shipping the items through Dubai. Experts said the non-corrosive valves could be used in uranium enrichment.
-- Agence France-Presse
February 5, 2013
Tahmasp Mazaheri, a former head of Iran's Central Bank (ICB), is being investigated for smuggling by German authorities after failing to declare a $70 million check from Banco de Venezuela. The check was seized by customs officials at Dusseldorf Airport, where Mazaheri arrived from Iran via Turkey. The check was allegedly destined for Kayson Company, an Iranian construction firm, for work carried out in Venezuela.
-- Wall Street Journal
January 29, 2013
Iran's space agency launched a monkey into space using the Kavoshgar-5 rocket, according to Iranian media reports.
-- NBC News
January 28, 2013
Yemeni authorities seized a boat containing money, weapons, and explosives, including surface-to-air missiles, C-4 explosives, 122-mm shells, rocket-propelled grenades, and bomb-making equipment such as electronic circuits and remote triggers. The weapons were made in Iran, according to U.S. officials, and may have been destined for insurgents inside Yemen. The surface-to-air missiles may be the Iran's Misagh-2.
-- New York Times
January 23, 2013
Three employees of Ben Line Agencies Japan, a Tokyo-based shipping firm, have been accused of illegally transferring $158,000 to a company in Singapore associated with the sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL). The three employees were arrested by Japanese Police in January, 2013.
-- Reuters
January 20, 2013
Prosecutors in Germany charged two Iranian men with smuggling drone-aircraft motors to Iran. The motors were suitable for use in the Iran's Ababil III surveillance and attack drone. Iman J.L. and Davood A. were charged with violating German export laws; under German privacy laws, disclosure of their last names is barred. Iman J.L. was charged with delivering 61 motors in 2008 and 2009; Davoud A. was charged with reselling some of the motors in Iran. Neither man is in custody.
-- Associated Press
January 9, 2013
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has announced that the 1,000 MW Bushehr reactor came back on-line on January 4, after a two month long hiatus. The reactor's fuel rods were unloaded when the plant was shut down. Russian Industry sources blamed the shutdown on stray bolts in the reactor vessel.
-- Reuters