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December 21, 2022

This month’s newsletter features an article analyzing Iran’s new Ghaem-100
rocket, including details on how it compares to earlier Iranian
space-launch vehicles and what its design indicates about the future of
Iran’s space and ballistic missile programs.

The newsletter also includes profiles of several entities linked to Iran’s
drone program, as well as news about space and defense collaboration
between Iran and Russia. Additions to the Iran Watch library include
multiple sanctions announcements, U.N. documents on the implementation of
Security Council resolution 2231, and a pair of U.S. enforcement actions.

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PUBLICATIONS

[4]

The Ghaem-100 before launch. (Credit: Screenshot from IRIB news broadcast,
via YouTube)

Article | [5]How the Ghaem-100 Rocket Puts Iran’s Space Program on a New
Trajectory

On November 5, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) successfully
tested the Ghaem-100, a new solid-fueled space-launch vehicle (SLV). The
rocket improves on earlier Iranian SLVs such as the Qased and the Zuljanah
in notable ways. More worryingly, it will likely serve as the basis for a
series of larger, even more capable solid-fueled rockets, heightening
international concern about Iran’s ability to develop an intercontinental
ballistic missile.

[6]READ THE ARTICLE

ENTITIES OF CONCERN

The European Union, the United States, and several other countries have
tightened sanctions on Iranian entities involved in the production of
drones and their transfer to Russia.

[7]Shahed Aviation Industries

An Iranian company involved in the design and manufacture of Shahed-series
UAVs; subordinate to the [8]Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace
Force (IRGCASF); Shahed-series one-way attack UAVs have been used by Russia
in its war against Ukraine.

[9]LEARN MORE

[10]Saeed Aghajani

A brigadier general in the [11]Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
involved in Iran's operation of UAVs; oversees Iran's supply of drones to
Russia and other allies of Iran.

[12]LEARN MORE

[13]Aseman Pishraneh Engineering Services Company

An Iranian company that performs services related to aircraft engines,
particularly Rotax-brand engines; majority-owned by [14]Paravar Pars
Company, which appears on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List
maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

[15]LEARN MORE

IN THE NEWS

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The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami,
announces the beginning of construction on the Shahid Kharrazi power
station at Darkhovin. (Credit: Tasnim News Agency)

[17]Iran, Russia Sign Space Cooperation Document | Islamic Republic News
Agency

December 14, 2022: The heads of Iran's and Russia's space agencies signed
an agreement to increase space industry cooperation between the two
countries. Future areas of collaboration may include the development of
satellites, the construction of launch sites, and visits by Iranian
astronauts to the Russian space station.

[18]US: Russia, Iran Moving Toward Full Defense ‘Partnership’ | Associated
Press

December 9, 2022: U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said
that Russia was training Iranian pilots on Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and
that Iran could receive deliveries of the aircraft within the year. He also
said Iran is considering setting up a drone assembly line in Russia and may
transfer hundreds of ballistic missiles to Moscow.

[19]Iran Starts Construction of New Nuclear Power Plant | Tasnim News
Agency

December 3, 2022: Iran officially began construction on a 300-megawatt
pressurized water reactor at Darkhovin in Khuzestan Province. According to
Iranian officials, the project will rely on an indigenous design and is
expected to take eight years to complete.

FROM THE LIBRARY

In December, the European Union, the United States, and other Western
countries sanctioned Iranian entities involved in human rights abuses and
military support to Russia.
* In conjunction with international Human Rights Day, the [20]European
Union and the [21]United States sanctioned Iranian entities for their
involvement in the violent crackdown against protestors in Iran - December
12 and 9.
* The [22]European Union, [23]Australia, [24]Canada, [25]New Zealand, and
the [26]United Kingdom imposed further sanctions on Iranian entities
involved in the production and transfer of drones to Russia - December 12,
10, 2, 14, 13.

Several reports and statements related to the implementation of U.N.
Security Council resolution 2231, which endorsed the JCPOA, were released.
* The U.N.’s facilitator for resolution 2231 transmitted his latest
[27]six-month report assessing the resolution’s implementation - December
12.
* The U.N. Secretary-General published [28]his accompanying report -
December 12.
* The U.S. representative to the United Nations [29]pointed to Iran’s
drone transfers to Russia as a violation of the resolution, while the
[30]Russian representative denied such transfers have occurred - December
19.
* France, Germany, and the United Kingdom [31]issued a statement
denouncing Iran’s “continued escalation” on its nuclear program - December
19.



The United States took action against sanctions evaders.
* The Department of the Treasury [32]designated an IRGC oil smuggling and
sanctions evasion network led by Turkish businessman Sitki Ayan - December
8.
* The U.S. Navy [33]intercepted a fishing trawler smuggling more than 50
tons of ammunition rounds, fuses, and propellants for rockets in the Gulf
of Oman along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen - December 3.
* The Department of Justice [34]unsealed a 15-count indictment against
Ray Hunt of Madison County, Alabama, accusing him of participating in an
illegal scheme to export U.S.-origin goods to Iran - November 29.

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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