Our Publications
International Enforcement Actions
February 1, 2010
An investigation revealed that in March 2009 Heli-Ocean Technology Co., Ltd., a Taiwanese company, shipped 108 pressure transducers to Iran. The gauges - dual-use items that are essential for centrifuge uranium enrichment, but have other, commercial applications - were ordered from Inficon Holding AG, a Swiss manufacturer. Heli-Ocean serves as...
Articles and Reports, Wisconsin Project Investigations
December 15, 2009
As the United States tries to muster support for stronger international sanctions against Iran, there is mounting evidence that the United States itself is not devoting the resources needed to enforce its own sanctions - notably against companies arming Iran. Tough laws have been enacted to punish such companies, but these laws are not being...
International Enforcement Actions
December 1, 2009
A cargo plane carrying weapons from North Korea was impounded and searched by authorities in Thailand. The Ilyushin 76 transport plane was found to be carrying 35 tons of explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, and surface-to-air missile components, in violation of a U.N. arms embargo against North Korea.
International Enforcement Actions
November 1, 2009
On November 11, 2009, the Israeli military released documentary evidence tying the arms cargo of the "Francop," a vessel seized by Israel's navy off the coast of Cyprus, to Iran. The merchant ship was flying the Antigua flag and was heading to the Syrian port of Latakia. Released documents included: a manifest indicating it was handled by Islamic...
International Enforcement Actions
October 1, 2009
U.S. troops boarded the German-owned freighter "Hansa India" in the Gulf of Suez in early October and discovered eight containers of ammunition and parts suitable for Kalashnikov rifles. The containers were secured when the ship arrived in Malta. The arms were found in barrels marked "Sazeman Sanaye Defa," the Farsi name for the Defense Industries...
International Enforcement Actions
October 1, 2009
Britain has frozen business with two Iranian entities, Bank Mellat and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), because they have supported Iran's missile and nuclear programs. These restrictions were implemented by Her Majesty's Treasury under the Counter-Terrorism Act of 2008. Both entities have already been sanctioned by the United...
Articles and Reports
September 30, 2009
Iran has been building a secret uranium enrichment plant that, according to the United States, would house 3,000 centrifuges and be capable of enriching enough uranium for one or two bombs per year. Yet, at their present rate of production, 3,000 of Iran's existing IR-1 centrifuges would take two years to fuel a bomb and ten years to produce the...
Articles and Reports
September 30, 2009
The disclosure of Iran's secret nuclear plant has changed the way the West must negotiate with Tehran. While worrisome enough on its own, the plant at Qum may well be the first peek at something far worse: a planned, or even partly completed, hidden nuclear archipelago stretching across the country.
The Qum plant doesn't make much sense as a stand...
Articles and Reports
September 25, 2009
Today's revelation that Iran has been building -- in secret -- a uranium enrichment plant should dispel any doubts about the true nature of Iran's nuclear program. Why would Iran hide such a site -- capable of fueling weapons as well as reactors -- if it is merely civilian in nature?
If the United States and its partners fail to win an immediate...
Policy Briefs
September 25, 2009
On September 25, 2009, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France revealed that Iran had been building a clandestine uranium enrichment plant, and called for an immediate inspection of the site by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Agency inspectors visited the plant one month later, and their preliminary findings were reported...