July 30, 2021

This month’s newsletter features updates to timelines of Iran’s nuclear and
missile programs. New entries cover recent developments in those programs,
including launches of new multi-stage space launch vehicles and the
production of uranium metal and 60 percent enriched uranium, as well as the
international community’s response to those developments.

Other items in the newsletter include profiles of Iran’s defense ministry
and two steel-making companies tied to the Iranian defense establishment.
The newsletter also features documents from the Iran Watch library on
Iran’s plans to produce enriched uranium metal and the United States’
ongoing efforts to enforce sanctions on Iran, as well as news about Iran’s
obstruction of international inspections of the Natanz enrichment facility,
the paused JCPOA negotiations in Vienna, and an Iranian hacker group’s
operations on Facebook.

[1]View the newsletter in your browser and [2]subscribe to receive it in
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PUBLICATIONS

[3]

[4]Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0

Timeline | [5]Iran Missile Milestones: 1985-2021

Since March 2020, Iran has successfully launched two new, multi-stage space
launch vehicles, announced the development of new ballistic and cruise
missiles, unveiled underground missile launch facilities, and tested its
missiles in a series of military exercises. Reports from the United Nations
linked Iranian missiles to attacks on Saudi Arabia and described
allegations that Iran and North Korea were collaborating on long-range
missile development.

[6]READ THE FULL MISSILE TIMELINE

[7]

[8]Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0

Timeline | [9]Iran Nuclear Milestones: 1967-2021

Since February 2021, Iran has enriched uranium above 60 percent purity,
expanded its overall stockpile of enriched uranium, and failed to answer
questions from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about
undeclared nuclear sites. Iran’s nuclear program has also suffered
setbacks, such as an explosion at Natanz, the country’s primary uranium
enrichment facility, and a week-long shutdown of its only nuclear power
plant, located at Bushehr.

[10]READ THE FULL NUCLEAR TIMELINE

ENTITIES OF CONCERN

Some of Iran’s commercial steel-producing companies have substantial ties
to the country’s military-industrial complex. Businesses operating in this
sector have allegedly provided goods and revenue to Iranian entities
involved in proliferation, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

[11]Mobarakeh Steel Company

A major Iranian steel production company; according to the U.S. Department
of the Treasury, used as a revenue source for Bonyad Taavon Basij, a
foundation linked to the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary group
subordinate to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); according to
the U.S. Department of State, has exchanged steel with Islamic Republic of
Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

[12]LEARN MORE

[13]Isfahan Alloy Steel Complex (IASC)

Specializes in the production of alloy steels; has reportedly been
subordinate to the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics
(MODAFL) and been operated by the National Iranian Steel Company (NISCO);
has reportedly produced steel for the Defense Industries Organization
(DIO).

[14]LEARN MORE

[15]Ministry of Defense Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL)

Iran’s defense ministry; responsible for defense research, development, and
manufacturing, including support for Iran’s missile and nuclear programs;
has brokered transactions involving products with ballistic missile
applications; supervises Iran’s development and production of missiles; has
provided logistical support to the IRGC, including the IRGC Quds Force.

[16]LEARN MORE

IN THE NEWS

[17]

[18]Hamed Saber, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

[19]Iran Restricts IAEA Access to Main Enrichment Plant after
Attack—Diplomats | Reuters

July 1: Iran has limited the ability of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) to inspect the country’s primary uranium-enrichment facility
in Natanz, according to Western diplomats. Iran justified the move as
necessary to preserve security at Natanz after an alleged Israeli attack on
the site in April. The IAEA has not reported the matter to its member
states or convened an emergency meeting of its board of governors.
Separately, a temporary agreement between Iran and the IAEA to preserve
data from the Agency’s monitoring cameras at Iranian nuclear facilities
expired last week. The IAEA said that Iran had not responded to inquiries
about extending the arrangement.

[20]Iran Not Ready for Nuclear Talks Until Raisi Takes over | Reuters

July 14: According to an unnamed diplomat, Iran told European officials
that it was waiting until Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes
office to return to negotiations meant to bring Iran and the United States
back into compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The diplomat said that participants in the negotiations expect them to
resume in mid-August; the last round of talks ended on June 20. The U.S.
State Department confirmed that Iran had asked for more time to accommodate
its presidential transition.

[21]Iranian Hackers Target U.S. Military, Defense Companies | Voice of
America

July 15: Facebook announced in a July 15 blog post that an Iranian hacker
group had created fake profiles on the social media service to contact
military personnel and defense contractors in the United States, the United
Kingdom, and other European countries in a months-long bid to infect their
computers with viruses and steal data. The hackers disguised themselves as
journalists, corporate recruiters, employees of defense firms and
nongovernmental organizations, and workers employed in the aviation,
healthcare, and hospitality industries. According to Facebook, the hackers
would try “to move conversations off-platform” through the use of other
“collaboration and messaging platforms,” then send malware to their
targets. Facebook, which removed the fake profiles and blocked related
domains, described the effort as part of a “much broader cross-platform
cyber espionage operation” and linked the malware to Mahak Rayan Afraz, a
Tehran-based firm tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It
remains unclear what information, if any, the hacker group—known as
“Tortoiseshell”—succeeded in obtaining from its targets.

FROM THE LIBRARY

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that Iran is
preparing to produce enriched uranium metal, a key component in the
construction of nuclear weapons. The move marks an escalation since Iran’s
successful production of natural uranium metal earlier this year.
* [22]France, Germany, and the United Kingdom condemn Iran’s plans to
make enriched uranium metal – July 6
* [23]Iran outlines the “peaceful, medicinal and humanitarian uses” of
the material – July 8
* [24]Iran’s envoy to the IAEA claims that enriched uranium metal will
enable Iran to produce fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor and improve
“the quality and quantity of radiopharmaceuticals” – July 8

With negotiations between Iran and the United States over their return to
compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on pause,
the U.S. Commerce, Justice, and Treasury Departments continued enforcing
sanctions and disrupting Iranian procurement attempts. The FBI also foiled
an Iranian plot to kidnap a U.S. citizen living in New York.
* [25]The Commerce Department blacklists Canadian and Iranian companies
for illegally exporting U.S. items to Iran – July 9
* [26]The Justice Department accuses Iran of plotting to kidnap a New
York-based dissident - July 13
* The [27]Commerce and [28]Treasury Departments fine a Dubai firm for
violating U.S. sanctions on Iran – July 19
* [29]An Iranian national based in Canada pleads guilty to violating U.S.
sanctions – July 22

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 © 2021 - Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control

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