Abolfazl Amouei, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission in the Iranian Parliament, claimed that 1,044 first-generation centrifuges, divided into six cascades, were enriching uranium to 4.5 percent at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Amouei's comments followed a visit by Iranian parliamentarians to the Shahid Ahmadi Roshan (Natanz) and Shahid Ali Mohammadi (Fordow) nuclear sites. Regarding Natanz, Amouei stated that parliamentarians "observed first-, second-, and fourth-generation centrifuges in the nuclear site that were put in the enrichment chain."
News Briefs
July 19, 2020
The United Nation's International Labor Organization (ILO) confirmed that hijackers had captured an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and sailed it to Iran. The MT Gulf Sky is suspected of smuggling petroleum on behalf of Iran. In May, the U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges against two Iranians alleged to have laundered $12 million in a bid to purchase the oil tanker through a series of front companies. The vessel was then operating as the MT Nautica; both Iranians remain at large. The scheme also involved the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), and the Quds Force, a military branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). An American bank froze assets involved in the planned transaction, leading the vessel's seller to file a lawsuit in the UAE to repossess it from the buyers. Emirati authorities had seized the oil tanker before the hijacking, in response to the legal action.
-- Associated Press
July 13, 2020
According to a report by Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, German police arrested a suspected operative for the Quds Force, an arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the state of Hesse in February 2019. German authorities are also continuing an investigation launched in 2017 against 10 suspected agents of the Quds Force. According to the report, Iranian intelligence agencies operating in Germany and other Western countries focus on gathering military, science, and business information, as well as information about Iranian dissidents.
-- The Jerusalem Post
July 11, 2020
The head of Iran's armed forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and Syrian Defense Minister Ali Abdullah Ayoub signed a military memorandum of understanding under which Iran will help Syria improve its air defense systems. The agreement followed a 2018 memorandum of understanding under which Iran pledged to support the reconstruction of the Syrian army and defense industries as well as an economic cooperation agreement covering investment in the oil, power, and financial sectors.
-- The Arab Weekly
July 11, 2020
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is attempting to take control of Khuzestan Steel Mill Company, the biggest producer of steel bars and second-largest producer of un-milled steel in Iran. The IRGC already oversees the company's management and operations and owns 49 percent of its shares, but IRGC officials developed a plan to "illegally acquire" the remaining shares, according to a confidential letter. The IRGC had managed its shares in Khuzestan Steel through Yas Holding Company, which itself operated under the IRGC Cooperative Foundation. After the 2018 dissolution of Yas Holding in the aftermath of several financial scandals, however, the IRGC continued to exercise control of the shares in Khuzestan Steel and sought to increase its holding. Reports suggest that the IRGC will transfer some of Yas Holding's other assets to the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei.
-- Radio Farda
July 6, 2020
Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri, who heads the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that Iran had established "missile cities" along its southern coast on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, as well as offshore. He said the sites contain surface-to-air missiles.
-- The Times of Israel
July 5, 2020
Iranian officials acknowledged that an explosion at the Natanz nuclear complex caused significant damage and set the country's nuclear program back by months. The explosion took place at a warehouse where advanced centrifuges are assembled, according to a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The spokesman said that the warehouse held "advanced equipment and precision measurement devices" that were "either destroyed or damaged," which may "slow down the development and expansion of advanced centrifuges." A Middle Eastern intelligence officer and a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) asserted that the explosion was caused by a bomb. Israel may be responsible for the attack; Israeli officials neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
-- The New York Times
July 5, 2020
Etka, an Iranian company subordinate to the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces (MODAFL) and tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has established a retail supermarket in Venezuela. Etka is supporting a military-run emergency food program that Colombia, Mexico, and the United States have described as a front for money laundering. Etka's chief executive, Issa Rezaie, has held positions at several IRGC-owned companies. Ekta was originally set up as a social security trust for Iranian military veterans.
-- The Wall Street Journal
July 4, 2020
An explosion and fire struck the Zargan power plant in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz. According to Iranian state media, the explosion was caused by a problem with a transformer.
-- The Times of Israel
July 3, 2020
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell received a letter from Iran's foreign minister triggering the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) "dispute resolution mechanism." Iran cited frustration with the failure of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to meet their obligations under the JCPOA. The mechanism allows for about one month to resolve any dispute, with the ability to extend the period. In January, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom triggered the dispute resolution mechanism over Iran's refusal to maintain restrictions on uranium enrichment.
-- Associated Press via The Washington Post