The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Iran's Mahan Air, charging that it had flown members of Iran's Qods Force and Hezbollah around the Middle East. Under the sanctions, Mahan's assets in the United States are frozen and U.S. firms are barred from doing business with it.
News Briefs
October 11, 2011
According to U.S. officials, elements of the Iranian government planned to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States as well as bomb the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina, with the help of Los Zetas, a Mexican drug cartel. The alleged plot was planned by Mansour J. Arbabsiar, an Iranian-American living in the United States, and Gholam Shakuri, an officer in Iran's Quds Force, which is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Mr. Arabsiar was arrested in New York on September 29, 2011; Mr. Shakuri remains at large. Iran has denied the allegations.
-- New York Times
September 28, 2011
Iran's Navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Naval Force received a large supply of Qader (Mighty) anti-ship cruise missiles from the country's Defense Ministry. According to Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, the missiles have a 200 kilometer range, can be launched on short notice, and can hit both naval vessels and onshore targets.
-- Fars News Agency
September 15, 2011
Belarus is suspected of helping Iran procure missile technology, especially navigation and guidance products, in violation of U.N. sanctions. According to intelligence information, a Belorussian businessman named Yuri Charniauski has been trying to purchase an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for his company, TM Services, from a Russian firm named Optolink in order to sell it to Iran. Members of the U.N. panel of experts will discuss the implementation of U.N. sanctions on Iran with Belorussian officials during a visit to Belarus this month.
-- Reuters
September 12, 2011
Iran's first nuclear power plant, the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant, was connected to the national power grid and is operating at about 40 percent (350-400 MW) of its capacity. The plant could begin full-power operations in December.
-- Associated Press
September 12, 2011
Marc Knapp, of Simi Valley, California, was sentenced to 46 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty, on January 13, 2011, to illegal exports to Hungary and attempting to export U.S. defense items to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Arms Export Control Act. Military items included: an F-5B Tiger II fighter jet, two F-14 ejection seats, five anti-gravity flight suits, four hand-held search and rescue radios, and fighter jet emergency procedures manuals.
-- Press Release, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement
September 2, 2011
Iran revealed its Ghader missile, also reported as Qader missile. Ghader is a new version of the Chinese-designed C-802 anti-ship missile, and a variant fitting the Ghader's description has been identified in Chinese sources as the "C-803." The C-802, also known as Project Noor (Dawn), is well established in Iranian service with an active assembly line producing surface-, ship- and air-launched variants.
-- Jane's Missiles and Rockets
August 27, 2011
Iran inaugurated a plant for producing carbon fiber, a material that Iran is banned from importing because of international sanctions. Design and manufacturing for the plant's machinery was carried out by the Ministry of Defense. Carbon fiber is a dual-use material that has missile and nuclear applications.
-- Agence France-Presse
August 25, 2011
JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $88.3 million as part of a settlement with the Treasury Department over a series of transactions involving Cuba, Iran and Sudan. JPMorgan violated U.S. embargo laws by processing wire transfers totaling around $178.5 million for Cuban nationals in late 2005 and early 2006. JPMorgan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran and made a $2.9 million loan to a bank that had ties to Iran’s government-owned shipping line in 2009. JPMorgan also failed to give up documents about a wire transfer that referred to Khartoum, Sudan in 2010 and 2011.
-- New York Times
August 22, 2011
Iran has moved centrifuges from its main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz to an underground uranium enrichment site in Fordo, which offers better protection from possible airstrikes. Iran did not say how many centrifuges had been moved, or specify the type of centrifuge. The bunker facility is to house approximately 3,000 centrifuges.
-- Associated Press