Our Publications
International Enforcement Actions
March 19, 2011
On March 19, 2011 Turkish authorities seized a large weapons cache destined for Syria from an Ilyushin cargo aircraft operated by Yas Air, an Iranian cargo airline. The cargo, which was labeled as "spare auto parts," included AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns and ammunition, as well as 60-mm and 120-mm mortar shells. Following an inspection of...
International Enforcement Actions
March 1, 2011
Three members of a Bogota, Colombia family pleaded guilty to U.S. federal charges for illegally attempting to export 22 F-5 fighter jet engines to Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and Executive Orders banning exports to Iran. Amparo Echeverri Valdes, Carlos Alfredo Pantoja-Coral, and Diego M. Echeverri...
International Enforcement Actions
March 1, 2011
The Israeli Navy seized a cargo vessel carrying 6 Chinese-made C-704 (Nasr 1) anti-ship missiles in the Mediterranean Sea. Also seized were 2,500 mortar shells, some 67,000 rounds of ammunition, 2 Kelvin Hughes radar systems, 2 C-704 launchers, and Farsi instruction manuals explaining how to operate the C-704. Israel believes the vessel, called...
International Enforcement Actions
February 1, 2011
British special forces and Afghan troops intercepted an Iranian shipment of 48 122mm rockets and 1,000 rounds of ammunition to the Taliban. According to western diplomats, the cache would have enabled the Taliban to double the range of its attacks (to 12 miles). The rockets were discovered on February 5, 2011, when troops stopped a convoy in...
International Enforcement Actions
February 1, 2011
Mohammad Reza Vaghari was convicted on February 24, 2011 in a U.S. District Court for illegal business transactions with Iran allegedly between 2002 and 2008. Vaghari's co-conspirator, Mir Hossein Ghaemi, pleaded guilty to charges in November 2010. Vaghari and Ghaemi, both Iranian nationals, used their Pennsylvania-based business Saamen Company to...
International Enforcement Actions
February 1, 2011
On February 15, 2011 Turkish authorities seized a truck carrying explosives en route to Syria from Iran. The interdiction took place in Kilis, a Turkish town near the Syrian border. The truck was carrying gunpowder, propelling charge, slow-burning material, detonators, solid rocket fuel, and RDX explosives. Shipping documents named SAD Import...
International Enforcement Actions
February 1, 2011
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions on February 1, 2011 targeting a multi-million dollar procurement network in Iran and Turkey for its direct support of Iran's ballistic missile program. According to Treasury, the network, led by Iranian national Milad Jafari, his brother Mani Jafari, and his father Mohammad Javad Jafari, used...
International Enforcement Actions
December 8, 2010
On December 8, 2010, South Korean officials seized some 300 phosphor bronze wire mesh rolls with potential nuclear uses from a Korean Air Cargo jet at Seoul International Airport. The measurements of these rolls correspond to use in a water distillation column for heavy water production.
International Enforcement Actions
November 1, 2010
The UK's Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced that all export licenses to Iran for items included on the European Union list of dual-use goods, along with brokering services and technical or financial assistance related to such items, would now be refused, "except in cases where there is manifestly no risk." Examples of...
Articles and Reports
October 29, 2010
The U.S. Treasury Department this week extended sanctions against Iran's national shipping company, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) - blacklisting 37 front companies and five individuals that have helped IRISL evade U.S. sanctions. Iran uses IRISL and its affiliates "to advance its illicit weapons of mass destruction program...