Russia launched an Iranian remote sensing satellite into orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome using a Soyuz rocket. The satellite, named Pars-1, weighed about 134 kilograms, was equipped with three cameras, and was traveling in a sun-synchronous orbit to survey Iran's topography, according to Iranian state media.
News Briefs
February 26, 2024
According to a quarterly report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran reduced its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity by 6.8 kilograms since late October 2023 by diluting some of the material with uranium enriched to 2 percent. Iran still has 121.5 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium in its stockpile, and it increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 percent purity.
-- Wall Street Journal
February 21, 2024
Iran has reportedly provided Russia with around 400 surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and plans to provide more, according to six anonymous sources. The shipments began in early January and have included the Zolfaghar missile, which can reach a distance of 700 kilometers.
-- Reuters
February 14, 2024
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force conducted a military drill in which it fired Ghadr and Emad ballistic missiles at a mock target resembling Israel's Palmachim Airbase.
-- Tasnim News Agency
February 13, 2024
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy fired two Fateh-class ballistic missiles from the Shahid Mahdavi warship in a coordinated trial with the IRGC Aerospace Force. The missiles were launched from containers placed on the deck of the ship.
-- Tasnim News Agency
February 8, 2024
The United States conducted retaliatory air strikes against 85 targets in Iraq and Syria following a drone strike carried out by Iraqi militias that killed three Americans at a U.S. military outpost in Jordan. In a separate drone strike in Baghdad, the United States also killed a commander in the militia group Kataib Hezbollah, whom Iraqi media identified as Abu Baqir al Saadi.
-- Wall Street Journal
February 5, 2024
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, said that workers had begun pouring concrete for the foundation of a 10-megawatt research reactor at the Isfahan nuclear technology center. Eslami visited the site to attend the inauguration ceremony of a unit for producing Tellurium hexafluoride (TeF6), a radioisotope with medical uses.
-- Islamic Republic News Agency
February 5, 2024
Iran's state-owned Petrochemical Commercial Company (PCC) has used British front companies to open bank accounts and conduct transactions at Lloyds and Santander banks, according to a journalistic investigation. Pisco UK is a company owned by British national Abdollah-Siauash Fahimi, but Fahimi is a former director of PCC's UK subsidiary, PCC UK, who agreed to own the company on PCC's behalf. Similarly, Aria Associates is nominally owned by Mohamed Ali Rejal, who is deputy chief executive of PCC UK. Both companies have received payments from Chinese firms, including Black Tulip Trading China, on PCC's behalf. PCC and PCC UK are both sanctioned by the United States, and PCC has held contracts with companies connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the Turkey-based company ASB.
-- Financial Times
February 1, 2024
Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, announced the start of construction of a 5,000 megawatt nuclear power station in Sirik, Hormozgan province.
-- Islamic Republic News Agency
January 31, 2024
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of four Chinese nationals involved in smuggling U.S.-made dual use goods to Iran via China-based front companies between 2007 and 2020. The four individuals charged were Baoxia Liu (Emily Liu), Yiu Wa Yung (Stephen Yung), Yongxin Li (Emma Lee), and Yanlai Zhong (Sydney Chung). The goods, which could be used in Iran's missile and UAV programs, were ultimately destined for Iranian entities including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Shiraz Electronics Industries, and Rayan Roshd Afzar Company.
-- U.S. Department of Justice
