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International Enforcement Actions
February 9, 2016
On January 27, 2016, Chinese national Sihai Cheng pleaded guilty to six counts related to the export of American-made pressure transducers to Iran in violation of U.S. export laws. He had been extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States to face the charges on December 5, 2014. Also indicted in the case were Iranian national Seyed...
Articles and Reports
January 29, 2016
Iran and the P5+1 announced on January 16, 2016 that Iran had met its initial obligations under the terms of the nuclear agreement. “Implementation Day” brought a first round of sanctions relief for Iran, including the removal of some 600 individuals and firms from the European Union, United States, and United Nations blacklists. These removals...
International Enforcement Actions
January 20, 2016
Criminal indictments were unsealed in Delaware and Massachusetts relating to the prosecution of Iranian arms procurement agent Amir Hossein Ardebili. In May 2008, Ardebili pled guilty to multiple violations of the Arms Export Control Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, smuggling, conspiracy and money laundering.
Policy Briefs
January 18, 2016
Iran and the P5+1 announced on January 16 that Iran had met its obligations under the terms of the nuclear agreement and would immediately receive a first round of sanctions relief. “Implementation Day” of the agreement arrived sooner than expected, as Iran rushed to limit the scope of its nuclear work and stockpiles, including by diluting or...
Policy Briefs
January 8, 2016
Last week, the White House backtracked on plans to impose new financial sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program. The Wall Street Journal reported on December 30 that the Treasury Department was preparing to sanction 11 companies and individuals that helped Iran’s missile developers illicitly procure key items from foreign suppliers.
Policy Briefs
December 10, 2015
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its long-awaited final report on Iran’s alleged past nuclear weapons work on December 2. This report is likely to be the Agency’s last word on its investigation into what it calls “the possible military dimensions [PMD] to Iran’s nuclear program.” The Agency found that Iran had a “...
Policy Briefs
December 2, 2015
Iran is taking steps to expedite the implementation of the nuclear deal, which Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi expects in “early January.” An early January implementation date now looks possible because Iran has taken two key steps needed to fulfill the nuclear restrictions required by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action: 1) it...
International Enforcement Actions
November 20, 2015
Kunlin Hsieh, a Taiwanese national and sales manager for Junbon Enterprises Co. Ltd. in Taiwan, pleaded guilty in June 2015 to conspiring to ship U.S.-origin dual-use electronic parts from the United States to Iran, via Taiwan. He was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison.
Articles and Reports
November 18, 2015
This report provides an estimate of how soon Iran could have fueled a nuclear weapon before the implementation of the new nuclear agreement reached in 2015. It is phrased in the present tense from the standpoint of a reader looking forward from the autumn of 2015, shortly after the agreement was reached. The data below, which are based on...
Policy Briefs
November 18, 2015
As part of the nuclear agreement with Iran, 36 entities will be removed from the United Nations blacklist when the deal is implemented next year. This represents about one-third of the entities on the U.N. list and covers entities that have been linked to undeclared nuclear work or illicit nuclear procurement. The removals also set in motion...