Our Publications
Articles and Reports, Wisconsin Project Investigations
April 9, 2010
In September 2008, the United States blacklisted Iran's state shipping company and its fleet of 123 vessels because of the company's role in supplying Iran's weapon programs. Soon after, in an effort to evade this sanction, the company began a large-scale re-labeling of its ships, giving them new names, new managers, new "owners" - in short, new...
International Enforcement Actions
April 1, 2010
German federal prosecutors charged Iranian citizen Mohsen Afrasiabi, German businessman Heinz Ulrich Kessel, and Iranian-German dual national Bezhad Sahabi with violating an arms embargo against Iran and European Union export restrictions on dual-use materials.
International Enforcement Actions
April 1, 2010
An investigation was triggered when the International Atomic Energy Agency received an e-mail that alleged the shipment of illegal goods to Iran, naming Javedan Mehr Toos (JMT) as the recipient. JMT received valves used on cylinders to transport uranium powder, valves used in the uranium enrichment process, and vacuum gauges.
International Enforcement Actions
March 1, 2010
Italian police arrested two Iranians and five Italians as part of an operation uncovering a ring supplying weapons to Iran from Italy and via third countries. Working with authorities in Britain, Switzerland, and Romania, Italian police said they foiled plans to export tracer bullets, explosives, German-made optical gear, helicopters, and other...
Articles and Reports
February 25, 2010
Earlier this month, Iran began to enrich uranium to 19.75 percent, a fateful step that will bring Iran far closer to being able to fuel a nuclear weapon.(a) Iran justified this action by claiming that the enrichment was necessary to produce fuel for its Tehran research reactor (TRR),(b) which is expected to run out of fuel in a year or two....
Policy Briefs
February 7, 2010
On February 7, 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran would begin producing up to twenty percent enriched uranium in order to fuel its Tehran Research Reactor (TRR). The next day, Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that this work was planned for the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP) at Natanz and that...
International Enforcement Actions
February 1, 2010
An investigation revealed that in March 2009 Heli-Ocean Technology Co., Ltd., a Taiwanese company, shipped 108 pressure transducers to Iran. The gauges - dual-use items that are essential for centrifuge uranium enrichment, but have other, commercial applications - were ordered from Inficon Holding AG, a Swiss manufacturer. Heli-Ocean serves as...
Articles and Reports, Wisconsin Project Investigations
December 15, 2009
As the United States tries to muster support for stronger international sanctions against Iran, there is mounting evidence that the United States itself is not devoting the resources needed to enforce its own sanctions - notably against companies arming Iran. Tough laws have been enacted to punish such companies, but these laws are not being...
International Enforcement Actions
December 1, 2009
A cargo plane carrying weapons from North Korea was impounded and searched by authorities in Thailand. The Ilyushin 76 transport plane was found to be carrying 35 tons of explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, and surface-to-air missile components, in violation of a U.N. arms embargo against North Korea.
International Enforcement Actions
November 1, 2009
On November 11, 2009, the Israeli military released documentary evidence tying the arms cargo of the "Francop," a vessel seized by Israel's navy off the coast of Cyprus, to Iran. The merchant ship was flying the Antigua flag and was heading to the Syrian port of Latakia. Released documents included: a manifest indicating it was handled by Islamic...