[1]

October 27, 2022

This month’s newsletter features a new episode of Iran Watch Listen, a
podcast by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. We sat down with
Dan Gettinger and Adam Rawnsley to discuss Iran’s military drone program,
including the country’s current capabilities, its drone exports to
governments and non-state groups, and whether tighter sanctions and export
controls could hinder the program’s progress.

In addition, the newsletter includes profiles of several entities that have
smuggled oil and laundered money on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, as well as news about U.S. and European
allegations that Iran’s drone sales to Russia constitute a violation of the
U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the JCPOA nuclear deal, U.S.
claims that IRGC personnel are in Crimea to help Russian forces operate
those drones, and reports that Iran may be preparing to sell ballistic
missiles to Russia. Additions to the Iran Watch library include sanctions
announcements by Western governments related to Iranian petrochemical
sales, human rights violations during the ongoing protests in Iran, and
drone sales to Russia.

Was this email forwarded to you? [2]Sign up to receive the newsletter in
your inbox, or [3]view the newsletter in your browser.

PUBLICATIONS

[4]

Iranian drones at a 2019 defense exhibition in Tehran. (Credit: Tasnim News
Agency)

Podcast | [5]Has Iran Become the Master of its Drone Destiny?

Iranian drones have been making international headlines since Iran began
selling them to Russia to use in Ukraine. But how capable are they? And
could tighter international sanctions and export controls effectively slow
Iran’s development of drones? Wisconsin Project researchers sat down with
two experts, Dan Gettinger and Adam Rawnsley, to better understand the
past, present, and future of Iran’s drone program. Dan Gettinger is the
Director of Publications and Communications at the Vertical Flight Society
and Adam Rawnsley is a reporter at Rolling Stone and a Fellow at the
Foreign Policy Research Institute.

[6]LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

ENTITIES OF CONCERN

The [7]IRGC Quds Force relies on networks of individuals and front
companies based outside of Iran to smuggle oil and launder money. The funds
can then be used to for activities related to terrorism and arms transfers.
In May, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned one such network involving
entities in Russia and China.

[8]Behnam Shahriyari

An official in the IRGC Quds Force; runs a money-laundering and
oil-smuggling network for the benefit of the Quds Force and Hezbollah in
collaboration with [9]Rostam Qasemi, a former IRGC official and Iran’s
current Minister of Roads and Urban Development.

[10]LEARN MORE

[11]RPP Limited Liability Company

A Russia-based wholesale trading company; has assisted Rostam Qasemi in the
transfer millions of dollars from Russia on behalf of the IRGC Quds Force;
has been party to oil sales and transport overseen by Qasemi.

[12]LEARN MORE

[13]Petro China Pars Co.

An Iran-based joint venture between Chinese and Iranian energy companies;
has assisted the IRGC Quds Force with smuggling and selling oil;
collaborated with Behnam Shahriyari and his Turkey-based associates to
launder the proceeds of the sales.

[14]LEARN MORE

IN THE NEWS

[15]

A United Nations Security Council meeting. (Credit: [16]Eskinder Debebe, UN
Photo.)

[17]Iran Sends Drone Trainers to Crimea to Aid Russian Military | New York
Times

October 18, 2022: Iran has sent members of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps to a base in Crimea to help Russian soldiers operate drones purchased
from Iran, according to U.S. officials. Originally, Russia had sent its
personnel to Iran for such training. Iran denied the claim.

[18]U.S. Says Iran Supplying Drones to Russia Violates U.N. Resolution |
Reuters

October 17, 2022: The United States said that Iran's supply of drones to
Russia is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolution 2231, the
resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world
powers. France and the United Kingdom had earlier put forth similar
assessments.

[19]Iran Plans to Send Missiles, Drones to Russia for Ukraine War,
Officials Say | Washington Post

October 16, 2022: Iran is planning to transfer Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar
short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, according to U.S. and allied
security officials. Iran is also preparing new deliveries of dozens of
Mohajer-6 drones and a larger number of Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones.

FROM THE LIBRARY

In late September, the United States sanctioned an international network of
companies helping Iran evade sanctions to sell petrochemical products.
* The Departments of State and Treasury collectively [20]sanctioned ten
entities that were enabling Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd. and Persian
Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co., both Iranian companies, to
transfer funds and ship petroleum and petrochemicals to buyers in Asia –
September 29.
* The [21]Treasury announcement noted that these sanctions were
reversible in the event of Iran’s return to JCPOA compliance – September
29.



Following U.S. [22]sanctions against Iran’s morality police in September,
several other Western governments imposed similar sanctions related to
human rights violations and the ongoing protests in Iran.
* Canada issued [23]three [24]rounds of [25]sanctions targeting a total
of 48 individuals and 16 entities ranging from the head of Iran’s morality
police to the Guardian Council. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also
[26]announced that he would bar more than 10,000 IRGC members from entering
Canadian territory – October 3, 7, 13, and 19.
* The United States itself issued a [27]second sanctions package aimed at
Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces as well as those responsible for the
country’s internet shutdown – October 6.
* The [28]United Kingdom and the [29]European Union targeted many of the
same senior law enforcement officials and political figures – October 10
and 17.

After the United States [30]sanctioned several Iranian entities involved in
the production of drones and drone shipments to Russia in September, the
European Union and the United Kingdom followed suit in October.
* The European Union [31]sanctioned Shahed Aviation Industries and three
military officials involved in Iran’s drone program – October 20.
* The United Kingdom concurrently [32]announced sanctions against the
same four entities – October 20.

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

[33]HOME

[34]ABOUT

[35]CONTACT US

[36]Twitter [37]LinkedIn [38]Facebook

References

1. [link removed]
2. [link removed]
3. [link removed]
4. [link removed]
5. [link removed]
6. [link removed]
7. [link removed]
8. [link removed]
9. [link removed]
10. [link removed]
11. [link removed]
12. [link removed]
13. [link removed]
14. [link removed]
15. [link removed]
16. [link removed]
17. [link removed]
18. [link removed]
19. [link removed]
20. [link removed]
21. [link removed]
22. [link removed]
23. [link removed]
24. [link removed]
25. [link removed]
26. [link removed]
27. [link removed]
28. [link removed]
29. [link removed]
30. [link removed]
31. [link removed]
32. [link removed]
33. [link removed]
34. [link removed]
35. [link removed]
36. [link removed]
37. [link removed]
38. [link removed]
Manage Your Subscription:
[link removed]

This message was sent to [email protected] from [email protected]

Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control
Iran Watch
1701 K Street NW Suite 805
Washington, DC 20006
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

iContact - Try it for FREE: [link removed]