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.
News Briefs
January 6, 2013
U.S. President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes provisions targeting international companies that continue to do business with Iran in certain industrial sectors, such as shipping and ports management. The new law also targets state-run media, and seeks to block Iran from obtaining critical materials such as aluminum, coal, and steel.
-- Washington Post
December 21, 2012
The U.N. Security Council sanctioned two Iranian entities, Yas Air and SAD Import-Export Company, for violating a U.N. arms embargo by illegally exporting weapons to the Syria government. The shipments included ammunition, assault rifles, machine guns, mortar shells, and other conventional arms.
-- Reuters via Jerusalem Post
December 21, 2012
The European Union expanded sanctions on Iran by adding nineteen new entities to its blacklist for being "involved in nuclear activities or providing support to the Iranian government." The sanctions also prohibit transactions with Iranian banks, the export to Iran of certain metals, software, and equipment and technology used to produce petroleum products.
-- Wall Street Journal
December 21, 2012
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned five entities as proliferators of unconventional weapons. SAD Import Export Co., Chemical Industries and Development of Materials Group, and Marine Industries Organization were sanctioned for ties to Iran's defense industry. Doostan International Co. was sanctioned for support to Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization. The director of Marine Industries Organization, Mustafa Esbati, was also sanctioned.
-- Wall Street Journal
December 16, 2012
South Korea announced new sanctions on Iran, adding more than 100 Iranian firms and individuals to a new financial blacklist. All foreign currency transactions for the entities on the blacklist will now require approval from South Korea's central bank.
-- Agence France-Presse
December 13, 2012
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned five Iranian nationals and seven Iranian companies because of links to procurement for Iran's uranium enrichment program. The sanctioned individuals include Fereidoun Abbasi-Davani, Seyed Jaber Safdari, Morteza Ahmadali Behzad, Amir Hossein Rahimyar, and Mohammad Reza Rezvanianzadeh. The sanctioned companies include Pouya Control, Iran Pooya, Aria NikanMarine Industry, Faratech, Neda Industrial Group, Tarh O Palayesh, and Towlid Abzar Boreshi. The sanctions prohibit these entities from doing business with U.S. entities and freezes their U.S. assets.
-- Reuters
December 11, 2012
Canada expanded sanctions against Iran by adding 98 individuals and organizations to its list of designated entities. The new measures target entities associated with Iran's nuclear program, as well as economic sectors that support this program, including the oil and gas, mining, metals, and shipping sectors.
-- CTV News
December 10, 2012
Standard Chartered agreed to pay a settlement of $327 million to settle claims by the U.S. Justice Department that the British bank had concealed transactions with Iran and Sudan. In September 2012, Standard Chartered also settled claims with the New York Department of Financial Services by agreeing to pay a $340 million settlement.
-- New York Times
November 21, 2012
Iran has supplied Hamas with the technology to build Fajr-5 missiles, according to Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Fajr-5 is a solid propellant rocket with a 75 kilometer range and a payload of 178 kilograms.
-- The Guardian