Russia indicated that it will not support extending a UN arms embargo on Iran beyond the October 2020 expiration date stipulated in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran is already pursuing military supplies from Russia. Potential acquisitions include Su-30 fighters, Yak-130 trainers, and T-90 tanks. The embargo bans Iran from buying offensive weaponry, and the United States has warned that lifting it will threaten global security.
News Briefs
December 23, 2019
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) reactivated a secondary circuit of its Arak heavy water reactor. The secondary circuit is responsible for transferring thermal energy from the reactor’s first circuit to the plant’s cooling towers. The reactor’s remaining systems will reportedly be completed in one year, with initial tests beginning in March 2021. The move did not violate international restrictions on Iran’s nuclear work.
-- Reuters
December 17, 2019
The United States has charged an Indonesian businessman and three companies based in Indonesia on eight counts related to violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Sunarko Kuntjoro, 68, allegedly conspired with the Iranian's Mahan Air and exported U.S.-origin goods to the company from March 2011 to July 2018 without the required licenses. Mahan Air was added to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list in 2011, and also appears on the Commerce Department’s Denied Persons List. The conspiracy allegedly involved transporting goods owned by Mahan Air through three companies, PT MS Aero Support (PTMS), PT Kandiyasa Energi Utama (PTKEU), and PT Antasena Kreasi (PTAK), for repair in the United States. The goods were then re-exported to Mahan Air in Iran and elsewhere. Penalties for these charges range from up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine to up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
-- U.S. Department of Justice
December 11, 2019
The United States sanctioned Shanghai-based ESAIL Shipping Company for transporting illicit materials from Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) and for working with Iranian companies under UN sanctions. New sanctions have also been placed on Mahan Air and three of its general sales agents for its alleged role in proliferating weapons of mass destruction. The United States has also sanctioned an Iranian shipping network for alleged smuggling of lethal aid to Yemen on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. The new sanctions on ESAIL and Mahan Air will take effect in June 2020, as will sanctions on Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).
-- Reuters
December 10, 2019
Iran is building underground tunnels for missiles and large-scale weapons at the Imam Ali military base in Eastern Syria, according to Western intelligence sources. The tunnel is assessed to be nearly 400 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 13 feet deep. It is believed to be in the final stages of construction. The assessment is based on analyses of open source satellite imagery conducted by intelligence officials.
-- Fox News
December 5, 2019
Russia's state-owned TVEL Company has suspended work at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, claiming that Iran's decision to resume uranium enrichment has made it impossible to continue producing radioactive isotopes for medical purposes at the facility. The announcement comes in the wake of the U.S. decision to cancel a sanctions waiver that had previously allowed foreign companies to conduct work at Fordow.
-- Associated Press
December 4, 2019
U.S. intelligence and military officials say that Iran is secretly stockpiling short-range ballistic missiles in Iraq. Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite militias, which control significant parts of Iraq's transportation infrastructure, are allegedly facilitating the missile shipments.
-- The New York Times
December 4, 2019
The U.S. Navy seized "advanced missile components" believed to be of Iranian origin after detaining a small vessel in the Arabian Sea. The missiles were allegedly bound for Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. While the United States has repeatedly intercepted Iranian arms shipments to the Houthis, U.S. officials noted that the missile parts in this case were unusually advanced.
-- Reuters
December 1, 2019
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden are joining the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a special purpose financial vehicle which is designed to facilitate European trade with Iran outside of U.S. sanctions authority. The six new members join France, Germany, and the United Kingdom as shareholders of INSTEX, which was established in January 2019 but has yet to process any transactions.
-- Radio Free Europe
November 20, 2019
Israel conducted air strikes in Syria targeting weapons warehouses outside Damascus and the Mezzeh air base which are controlled by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. The strikes came in response to an Iranian attack against Israel the day before, when four rockets were launched from Syrian territory toward the Golan Heights. The Israeli strikes killed at least 21 people and destroyed several Syrian air defense batteries that fired in retaliation.
-- The New York Times