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April 29, 2022

This month's newsletter features an international enforcement action
detailing Iranian efforts to procure counter-drone technologies from the
United States. Court documents and business records show that even though
the attempted exports were thwarted, the network's ringleader still works
with Iranian defense contractors and a China-based company today.

The newsletter also features profiles of an Iranian university and two
China-based chemical suppliers with ties to Iran's missile and nuclear
programs. Documents from the Iran Watch library include statements related
to the UN-brokered ceasefire in Yemen, annual reports by the U.S. State
Department on arms control treaty compliance by Iran and countries
worldwide, and activity in the U.S. Congress related to a possible JCPOA
revival, as well as news about the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA)'s monitoring efforts in Iran, Iran-facilitated arms transfers to
Russia, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) troop movements in
Syria.

[2]View the newsletter in your browser and [3]subscribe to receive it in
your inbox.

PUBLICATIONS

[4]

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Enforcement Action | [5]Drones and Directed Energy at Center of Procurement
Network

In 2017 and 2018, a ring of procurement agents in Canada, Iran, the United
Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, attempted to acquire dual-use
systems on behalf of Iranian military aerospace company Rayan Roshd Afzar.
They purchased an industrial microwave system that was impounded by U.S.
Customs and Border Patrol at the Port of Newark and placed bids for
counter-drone systems totaling almost $1 million. Recently-released court
documents identify the conspirators who were anonymously described in a
2018 indictment and shed light on how the scheme was interrupted. Still,
the core of the network appears to remain intact.

[6]READ THE ENFORCEMENT ACTION

ENTITIES OF CONCERN

Iran's universities carry out research relevant to Iran's nuclear and
missile programs and employ faculty who support those programs. The
universities often acquire supplies for this research from companies
abroad.

[7]Islamic Azad University

An Iranian university system whose faculty members have collaborated with
Iranian government agencies to carry out research relevant to Iran's
nuclear and missile programs; President is Mehdi Tehranchi, a nuclear
scientist who served as a project supervisor in the Amad Plan, the pre-2004
Iranian program to develop nuclear weapons.

[8]LEARN MORE

[9]Zibo Elim Trade Company, Ltd.

A China-based exporter of chemicals and related equipment; has supplied
HTPB, which is controlled under the Missile Technology Control Regime
(MTCR) for its potential use in solid propellants for missiles, for studies
conducted by Islamic Azad University and U.N.-sanctioned Malek Ashtar
University of Technology.

[10]LEARN MORE

[11]Chengdu Best New Materials Co. Ltd.

A China-based manufacturer and exporter of metal powder and cemented
carbide; has transferred sensitive technology and items to Iran's missile
program, according to the U.S. Department of State.

[12]LEARN MORE

IN THE NEWS

[13]

Image Source: IAEA Imagebank

[14]UN Watchdog Installs New Cameras At Iran Centrifuge Workshop |
Associated Press

April 14, 2022: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) installed
monitoring equipment at Iran's new underground centrifuge component
manufacturing plant in Natanz. It also unsealed equipment at the plant.
Iranian officials said that production would begin immediately but did not
reveal the exact location of the new operation within the large Natanz
facility. They also reaffirmed that Iran will withhold the monitoring
equipment's data until a deal over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA) is reached.

[15]Russia "Using Weapons Smuggled By Iran From Iraq Against Ukraine" | The
Guardian

April 11, 2022: Iraqi militias are working with Iran to send weapons to
Russia for use against Ukraine, according to unnamed militia and regional
intelligence sources. Hashd al-Shaabi, one of the most influential
Iran-backed militias, reportedly transported rocket-propelled grenades,
antitank guided missiles, and multiple-launch rocket systems to the Iranian
border in late March. The Iranian military then sent the shipment across
Iran and via the Caspian Sea to the Russian port of Astrakhan. According to
sources involved in the transportation scheme, Iran has also returned an
S-300 air defense system to Russia and donated an Iranian-made Bavar-373
air defense system.

[16]Iranian Militias Deployed In Central Syria After Russia's Withdrawal |
Asharq Al-Awsat

April 5, 2022: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its allies
have replaced Russian forces that withdrew from the second-largest arms and
ammunition depot in Syria, located east of the city of Homs. Lebanese
Hizballah and the Syrian Army's Fourth Division, led by Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher, deployed to the Mahin depot alongside the
IRGC. Approximately 40 military vehicles were seen moving into the area.

FROM THE LIBRARY

UN mediators announced a comprehensive ceasefire between the Iran-backed
Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemen war, while the U.S. 5th
Fleet revealed plans for a [17]new task force for the Red Sea.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian [18]said during a
phone call with UN Secretary General António Guterres that while Iran
endorsed the ceasefire, its failure to consider “Saudi attacks on Yemen”
was “unconstructive” - April 3
* UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg [19]said the two-month truce
would allow fuel ships to transit Hodeidah port and flights to resume from
Sana’a airport - April 1
* Guterres [20]revealed the parties had also agreed to discuss reopening
roads in Taiz - April 1

The State Department released annual arms control compliance reports
related to biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. The Treasury
Department also designated a network procuring items related to ballistic
missile propellant.
* The State Department [21]concludes that “serious concerns remain” about
Iran’s undisclosed nuclear sites even after Iran agreed to provide the IAEA
with answers, and notes that Iran has engaged in dual-use activities with
potential biological weapon applications - April 19
* The chemical weapons report [22]finds Iran in noncompliance with the
Chemical Weapons Convention and raises concerns that it is exploring
offensive chemical weapons - April 19
* After the Iranian missile strike on Iraqi Kurdistan, the Treasury
Department [23]sanctioned five entities supplying Iran's ballistic missile
program - March 30

Members of Congress weighed in on nuclear negotiations with Iran and the
U.S. military posture in the Middle East.
* Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) [24]wrote a letter urging the Biden
administration to maintain the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)
designation on the IRGC and keep other sanctions in effect - April 19
* Thirteen Republican senators also [25]wrote a letter to the
administration in defense of the FTO designation - April 11

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 © 2022 - Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control

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