The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on multiple entities in response to Iran’s ballistic missile program, support for terrorism, and destabilizing activities in the region. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified three ballistic-missile procurement networks: one operating between Iran and China run by Abdollah Asgharazadeh; a Gulf-based network run by Kambiz Rostamian; and an Iran-based network centered around Mabrooka Trading that sought carbon fiber and laboratory equipment for Navid Composite, a subsidiary of U.N.-sanctioned Sanam Industrial Group. OFAC also designated an IRGC support network in Lebanon that is working with Hizbollah.
News Briefs
February 3, 2017
-- U.S. Department of the Treasury Press Release
February 2, 2017
According to German newspaper Die Welt, Iran tested the nuclear-capable Sumar cruise missile. The missile traveled approximately 600 kilometers in its first known successful test and may have a range of up to 3,000 kilometers. Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles are not restricted under current U.N. resolutions.
-- Reuters
February 2, 2017
Iran successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile, according to Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan. According to a U.S. official, the missile exploded after traveling 630 miles (1,013 kilometers). Iran continues to deny that its ballistic missile activity violates U.N. Security Council resolution 2231 by maintaining that these missiles are not "designed to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons."
-- Tasnim News Agency
January 28, 2017
Iran has injected uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas into its IR-8 centrifuges, according to a statement by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). The AEOI says that the work is part of Iran's uranium enrichment research and development activities and is in line with the country's commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. In a statement in December 2016, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the IR-8 replaces the first generation IR-1 centrifuge.
-- Tasnim News Agency
January 16, 2017
Iran has met the deadline for limiting the number centrifuges at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant to just over 1,000 machines, according to a statement by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Hundreds of centrifuges were transferred to an underground storage facility at Natanz. Under the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran had one year from January 16, 2016 to move the excess centrifuges.
-- Reuters
January 9, 2017
Iran's parliament has approved a bill to promote the country's military capability by "developing and increasing the power to produce missiles," including "within short, medium and long ranges," and "developing and strengthening electronic warfare and cyber defense capabilities." This vote follows another last May to require that five percent of the national budget be used for defense spending.
-- Tasnim News Agency
January 9, 2017
The United States and its partners in the P5+1 group of countries recently approved the transfer from Russia to Iran of 116 metric tons of natural uranium. The transfer, which would be the first since the nuclear agreement came into force, must first be formally approved by the U.N. Security Council. The uranium transfer would serve as compensation for Iran's shipment to Russia of 40 metric tons of heavy water. Iran has not stated how the uranium will be used.
-- Associated Press
December 20, 2016
Iran's atomic energy agency announced that it will export less heavy water annually due to an oversupply in the global market. An agency spokesman said that some 20 tons of heavy water would be exported per year, far less than the 70 tons Iran has exported since the nuclear agreement took effect in January 2016.
-- Fox News
December 15, 2016
The Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) was renewed with overwhelming Congressional support but without President Barack Obama's signature. The White House issued a statement saying that the administration viewed the ISA extension as unnecessary, but in line with U.S. commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
-- The Wall Street Journal
December 15, 2016
Lim Young Nam, aka Steven Lim, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States by dishonest means. Between August 2007 and February 2008, Lim was involved in a scheme to illegally purchase and export 6,000 radio frequency modules with encryption and long-range wireless data transmission capabilities from a Minnesota-based company. Lim, a citizen of Singapore, falsely portrayed Singapore as the ultimate destination for the goods, when the actual destination was Iran. At least 14 of the modules were later found as components of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq.