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August 29, 2024

This month’s newsletter features an article on Iran’s new space center at
Chabahar, which is expected to become operational later this year. The
spaceport’s capacity to launch larger rockets than Iran’s two existing
facilities will enable the country to take the next steps toward its space
ambitions. Better space capabilities have implications for Iran’s military
programs, but formidable technical challenges remain.

The newsletter also includes profiles of companies supplying servomotors to
Iran for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) drone program, as
well as news that Iran is seeking China’s help with satellites, has found
new destinations for its oil exports, and is preparing to transfer Fath-360
ballistic missiles to Russia. Additions to the Iran Watch library include
official statements on the possibility of regional escalation following the
assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, announcements of
U.S. actions to disrupt Iran’s material and financial support to the
Houthis, and other U.S. Department of Justice indictments.

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PUBLICATIONS

[4]

Iranian Space Agency chief Hassan Salarieh shows images of the Chabahar
space center under construction. Credit: President.ir

Articles and Reports | [5]Chabahar: The Gateway to Iran’s Space Future?

Iran’s long-awaited space center at Chabahar, first announced in 2010, is
expected to become operational later this year. The spaceport’s ability to
launch larger rockets than Iran’s two existing facilities will enable the
country to take the next steps toward its stated space ambitions.

Formidable technical challenges remain, however. And although the West has
long been concerned by Iran’s development of space-launch rockets as
potential test beds for intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
technologies, the satellites those rockets carry may prove equally valuable
as military assets through the enhancements they provide to targeting,
navigation, and communication.

[6]READ THE ARTICLE

ENTITIES OF CONCERN

Last September, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned a network
supplying servomotors to [7]Pishgam Electronic Safeh Company (PESC) in
Iran, which was procuring the parts for the [8]IRGC Aerospace Force
Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
program.

[9]Hongkong Himark Electron Model Limited

A Hong Kong-based electronics distributor; exported more than one million
dollars’ worth of servomotors to PESC; also supplied more than one hundred
thousand dollars’ worth of servomotors to the Houthis in Yemen.

[10]LEARN MORE

[11]Dal Enerji Madencilik Turizm Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi

A Turkey-based engineering company; along with [12]Anka Port Ic Ve Dis
Ticaret INSAAT Lojistik Sanayi Limited Sirketi, facilitated financial
transactions for PESC’s purchase of the servomotors; also facilitated
hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments for illicit Iranian
petrochemical sales.

[13]LEARN MORE

[14]Farhad Ghaedi Goods Wholesalers LLC

A United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based trading company; facilitated the
shipment of the servomotors from Hong Kong to Iran via Dubai; owner is
Farhad Ghaedi.

[15]LEARN MORE

IN THE NEWS

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A training variant of the Fath-360 missile system. (Credit: Tasnim News
Agency)

[17]Iran Seeks China’s Help with Surveillance Satellites, Officials Say |
Washington Post

August 16, 2024: Anonymous Western security officials said that Iran’s IRGC
is seeking assistance from two Chinese satellite companies to enhance its
surveillance capabilities. According to the sources, IRGC personnel have
held multiple exchanges with company officials from Chang Guang Satellite
Technology Co. and MinoSpace Technology Co., both of which offer equipment
that would help Iran improve its satellites. The parties have not concluded
any formal agreements yet, however.

[18]Iran’s Oil Finds New Destinations in Tehran Export Push, Sources Say |
Reuters

August 9, 2024: Iran shipped small amounts of crude oil to new
destinations, including Bangladesh and Oman, in June and July 2024. Despite
U.S. sanctions on its crude oil exports, Tehran’s oil output in 2024 has
exceeded 3.2 million barrels per day, a five-year high, while exports have
stabilized around 1.5 million barrels per day.

[19]Iran to Deliver Hundreds of Ballistic Missiles to Russia Soon, Intel
Sources Say | Reuters

August 9, 2024: Two European intelligence sources said that Iran is
preparing to deliver hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles to
Russia for potential use in Ukraine. The sources said that Russian defense
ministry officials signed a contract for the weapons in December 2023 and
that Russian personnel have been trained on the system in Iran, signaling
that delivery is imminent.

FROM THE LIBRARY

Following the [20]assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in
Tehran on July 31, signals from Tehran and Washington prompted fears of
regional escalation.
* The Iranian [21]Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed Israel and said that
Iran had an “inalienable right to respond appropriately to this brazen act
against its sovereignty and territorial integrity” – July 31.
* Days later, a Pentagon official [22]announced fresh deployments to the
Middle East, including additional ballistic missile defense assets and an
extra fighter squadron – August 2.

The United States announced new measures aimed at disrupting Iran’s
material and financial support to the Houthi rebel group.
* The Department of Justice [23]announced the indictment of Shahab and
Yunus Mir’kazei, IRGC officials who hired Pakistani national Muhammad
Pahlawan to smuggle weapons from Iran to Yemen on a dhow owned by Shahab.
The same dhow was interdicted by U.S. forces in January – August 8.
* The Department of the Treasury [24]announced sanctions on one
individual, six companies, and three vessels for their involvement in the
illicit sale of Iranian oil and gas on behalf of Houthi financier Sa’id
al-Jamal – August 15.

The U.S. Department of Justice publicized two court cases connected to
Iran.
* Federal officials arrested Asif Raza Merchant in New York and
[25]accused him of scheming to assassinate U.S. politicians or government
officials on U.S. soil. Although Merchant is Pakistani, he has close ties
to Iran and visited the country frequently – August 6.
* Officials also arrested California resident Jeffrey Chance Nader,
[26]who was indicted for conspiring to illegally export military aircraft
components from the United States to Iran – August 14.

Iran Watch is a website published by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms
Control. The Wisconsin Project is a non-profit, non-partisan organization
that conducts research, advocacy, and public education aimed at inhibiting
strategic trade from contributing to the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.

Copyright © 2024 - Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control

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