[1]

February 28, 2023

This month’s newsletter features the findings from an Iran Watch roundtable
on Iranian drones. An expert panel convened by the Wisconsin Project on
Nuclear Arms Control identified areas where the United States and its
partners could do more to slow Iran’s drone development and halt the flow
of capable Iranian drones to Russia.

The newsletter also includes profiles of entities supplying Iran’s drone
program, as well as news about the detection of uranium particles enriched
to 84% purity in Iran, the inauguration of a uranium mine in Yazd province,
and Iran’s plans to build a drone production facility in Russia. Additions
to the Iran Watch library include documents on Iran’s weapon transfers
abroad, U.S. sanctions enforcement, and new human rights sanctions from
Western governments related to Iran’s protest crackdown.

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]

A display of Iranian drones modeled after the Lockheed Martin RQ-170.
(Credit: Tasnim News Agency)

Roundtable | [5]Clipping Tehran's Wings: How Supply-Side Controls Can
Impede the Iranian Drone Program

Iran’s aerial drone program has become an area of increasing concern to the
United States and its partners in recent months, particularly in light of
Iran’s direct transfers to Russia and illicit shipments to proxy groups
such as the Houthis in Yemen. The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control
convened an expert panel for a private roundtable discussion on how
sanctions and export controls can inhibit Iran’s development of unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The panel offered recommendations of how supply-side controls, despite some
inherent limitations, can be strengthened and can continue to limit the
size and capability of Iran’s drone arsenal in the future. A supplementary
[6]fact sheet summarizes these recommendations.

[7]READ THE ROUNDTABLE

[8]VIEW THE FACT SHEET

ENTITIES OF CONCERN

Small Iranian companies and foreign suppliers play a key role in Iran’s
increasingly diversified drone development program.

[9]Beijing MicroPilot UAV Flight Control Systems

A China-based company that sells complete UAVs as well as autopilot systems
and engines for UAVs; reportedly sells engines manufactured by Oje Parvaz
Mado Nafar Company (Mado Company), used in Shahed-series drones.

[10]LEARN MORE

[11]Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Company

An Iran-based company specialized in manufacturing UAV components;
according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has procured UAV engines
for entities linked to the [12]Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

[13]LEARN MORE

[14]Abdollah Mehrabi

A brigadier general in the IRGC and former co-owner of Oje Parvaz Mado
Nafar Company; has procured UAV engines from Mado Company on behalf of the
[15]IRGC Aerospace Force Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization.

[16]LEARN MORE

IN THE NEWS

[17]

AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami at the inauguration ceremony for the Narigan
mine. (Credit: Islamic Republic News Agency)

[18]U.N. Inspectors Detect Near-Weapons-Grade Enriched Uranium in Iran |
Wall Street Journal

February 19, 2023: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors
detected uranium particles enriched to 84% fissile purity in Iran in recent
weeks, according to three senior diplomats. Iran does not however appear to
be accumulating uranium stocks at that level, according to the diplomats. A
spokesman for Iran’s atomic energy agency did not deny the report, but he
suggested that more highly enriched particles could be a byproduct of
enrichment to lower levels.

[19]Iran Announces Start-up of Uranium Mine | World Nuclear News

February 7, 2023: The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced
the beginning of operations at the Narigan Mining and Industrial Complex in
Yazd province. At the inauguration ceremony, Mohammad Eslami, head of the
AEOI, said that uranium from Narigan will be sent to Esfahan for
"purification" and will be used for making nuclear fuel. He claimed that
the site contained an estimated 650 tons of natural uranium and 4,600 tons
of molybdenum.

[20]Moscow, Tehran Advance Plans for Iranian-Designed Drone Facility in
Russia | Wall Street Journal

February 5, 2023: According to unnamed officials from a U.S.-aligned
country, Iran and Russia are advancing plans to build a factory in Russia
that can produce at least 6,000 Iranian-designed drones in the coming
years. On January 5, a delegation led by Abdollah Mehrabi and Ghassem
Damavandian traveled to Yelabuga, Russia, to tour the planned site. The two
countries are also developing a version of the Shahed-136 suicide drone
with a better engine that would travel faster and farther than the current
model. The drone factory is part of a $1 billion deal between Tehran and
Moscow.

FROM THE LIBRARY

The United States and its partners worked to expose and thwart Iranian
transfers of drones and other arms.
* French forces, with [21]help from the United States, seized a shipment
of 3,000 assault rifles, ammunition, and 20 anti-tank missiles off the
coast of Yemen - February 1.
* U.S. Central Command [22]confirmed that Yemeni security forces captured
100 UAV engines during an inspection at the border with Oman - February 1.
* The United States announced [23]a new round of sanctions targeting the
board of directors of a company involved in drone transfers to Russia -
February 3.
* The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released [24]a report comparing
images of UAVs used by Russian forces in Ukraine and Iranian UAVs used to
attack U.S. and partner interests in the Middle East - February 14.

The United States used secondary sanctions and administrative actions to
punish violations of existing sanctions on Iran.
* The Treasury Department [25]sanctioned nine more entities linked to
Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd. that have facilitated the sale of Iranian
petrochemicals to buyers in East Asia - February 9.
* The Commerce Department issued an [26]order denying export privileges
for Arash Yousefi Jam, a resident of Canada [27]who pleaded guilty to
violating U.S. sanctions on Iran in 2021 - February 14.

Western governments announced more sanctions against Iranian entities
involved in the violent suppression of protests.
* The Australian government [28]imposed targeted financial sanctions
against the Basij Cooperative Foundation as well as senior law enforcement
and military figures - February 1.
* The European Union adopted [29]new restrictive measures against 32
individuals and two entities, including members of the Iranian parliament -
February 20.
* The United Kingdom [30]sanctioned more Iranian officials, including
judges who imposed the death penalty against protesters - February 21.

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 © 2023 - Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control

[31]HOME

[32]ABOUT

[33]CONTACT US

[34]Twitter [35]LinkedIn [36]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]
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]