The United States granted a 45-day sanctions waiver that allows Iraq to continue importing Iranian gas and electricity supplies. During the waiver period, Iraq is to present its plan for achieving gas independence from Iran, including steps to increase its domestic gas supply or find alternative power sources. The 45-day period may be extended once Iraq produces a technical timetable of the plan.
News Briefs
February 12, 2020
-- Associated Press
February 11, 2020
The U.S. Department of Justice charged five defendants in Texas and New York with conspiring to purchase Iranian oil and sell it to a Chinese refinery in violation of U.S. sanctions. The plan would have used a Polish shell company as a straw seller of the Iranian oil. Two defendants allegedly agreed to open offshore accounts with foreign passports, and defendant David Ray Lane offered to launder money through STACK Royalties, LLC. The defendants face a maximum sentence of 25 years and a fine of up to $1.25 million for counts of conspiracy and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
-- Reuters
February 9, 2020
Iran made an unsuccessful attempt to place its “Zafar 1” communications satellite into orbit during a launch from the Imam Khomeini Spaceport. According to Defense Ministry space program spokesman Ahmad Hosseini, the Simorgh rocket functioned properly during early stages of the launch, but failed to achieve the velocity needed to place the satellite into orbit. Iran experienced two failed satellite launches and a launchpad explosion in 2019. The United States contends that Iran’s satellite program assists in its ballistic missile development in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution.
-- Associated Press
February 4, 2020
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union, announced that the EU will extend indefinitely the deadline for resolving the issue of Iranian noncompliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).The EU formally accused Iran of violating the treaty on January 14, triggering the start of a 15-day process to resolve the issue under the dispute resolution mechanism. The EU will avoid a strict time limit that would oblige it to bring the issue to the U.N. Security Council, where new sanctions could be imposed. Borrell stated that progress on the issue can only be made if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains in Iran to monitor its nuclear activities.
-- Reuters
January 31, 2020
According to a new U.N. report, Houthi rebels in Yemen are receiving parts for drones and weapons that may have been manufactured in Iran, suggesting potential violations of a U.N. arms embargo. In addition to maritime transport, the main smuggling routes run overland from Oman and southern Yemen toward Sanaa. The report deemed it unlikely that Houthis carried out the September 2019 attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities based on the range of the systems used. These systems were unlikely developed in Yemen, implying that they were imported in violation of the embargo. One batch of seized parts was traced from a Hong Kong company to Oman, and another was traced from Japan to the United Arab Emirates.
-- Associated Press
January 31, 2020
U.S. federal prosecutors charged Bahram Karimi, an Iranian national living in Canada, for facilitating payments in an infrastructure project by the governments of Iran and Venezuela. Prosecutors allege that Karimi illegally routed $115 million from a Venezuelan company to Iranian entities through Swiss bank accounts, violating U.S. sanctions. Charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and lying to federal investigators.
-- NBC
January 30, 2020
The United States renewed 60-day sanctions waivers that allow Russian, Chinese, and European firms to continue their nuclear cooperation initiatives with Iran, including nonproliferation work at the Arak heavy water research reactor, the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, and the Tehran Research Reactor. At the same time, Washington issued new sanctions, designating the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and its head, Ali Akbar Salehi.
-- Reuters
January 27, 2020
New commercial satellite imagery shows vehicles parked at the rocket assembly and launch sites of Iran’s Imam Khomeini Space Center. The images may indicate that Iran is preparing a space launch after three failed attempts in 2019. Iran’s minister of information and communications technology, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, recently tweeted Iran’s plan to launch two small communications satellites, the Zafar 1 and 2, into orbit.
-- NPR
January 25, 2020
After pleading guilty to violating the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations and federal criminal law, James Meharing, owner of Turbine Resources International, LLC in Pensacola, Florida was sentenced to 40 months in prison for conspiring to ship a Solar Mars 90 S turbine core engine to Dubai for an Iranian energy company. Meharing falsified documents used to legally export items from the United States and received a payment of $250,000 in laundered funds from a conspirator in the United Kingdom. The turbine was seized by law enforcement authorities before it reached the Iranian company.
-- WKRG
January 25, 2020
Iran announced that it has stockpiled 1,200 kilograms of enriched uranium, surpassing the 202.8 kilogram limit set by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Ali Asghar Zarean, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) chief, stated that Iran is increasing its enriched uranium stockpile at "full speed". The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not verified the claims, but reported that Iran’s stockpile reached 373.2 kilograms in early November.
-- The Associated Press