Senators Press China on Iran and North Korea
August 12, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
U.S. senators visiting China have confronted Beijing about its ties with North Korea and Iran, reports Reuters. At a news briefing yesterday, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) said that the senators raised claims that a missile China had sold to Iran was possibly passed onto Hezbollah forces in Lebanon which fired it at an Israeli ship. According to Specter, Chinese officials did not confirm that the missile was Chinese yet also did they deny the claim. “The reply came from one of the representatives that sales were made to a sovereign country and it was under an arrangement, as I said before, that there would not be a resale or a transfer,” he said. Specter added that the senators had also expressed Washington’s belief that China needed to do more to press North Korea to return to the negotiating table. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Iran, North Korea
Russian Arms Exporter Calls Sanctions for Proliferation “Unfriendly”
August 9, 2006 :: AFP :: News
The Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Monday, August 7, that U.S. sanctions against it were an “unfriendly act” aimed at undermining Russia’s defense industry, reports the AFP. On August 4, Washington announced that it had placed sanctions on Rosoboronexport and jetmaker Sukhoi for providing Iran with equipment that could be used to develop missile systems or weapons of mass destruction. Rosoboronexport replied in an official statement that “the introduction of sanctions should be seen as nothing other than an unfriendly act against the Russian state and an attempt at destabilizing its defense cooperation with foreign countries.” It continued: “Our cooperation with Iran … is carried out strictly in accordance with international agreements and is limited exclusively to supplies of defensive armament … Such deliveries of arms and military technology to Iran are made by many foreign companies, including by partner countries of the United States in NATO.” The sanctions could “have a negative effect on US-Russian partnership in countering illegal shipments of counterfeit Russian arms, particularly to Iraq and Afghanistan,” it added. In addition to the official statement, Rosoboronexport’s director Sergei Chemezov was quoted by Interfax as saying, “It’s a purely political move, an example of unfair competition.” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov also weighed in: “These sanctions don’t have the slightest relation to non-proliferation,” he said, according to Interfax. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Proliferation, Russia
U.S. Sanctions Russian Companies for Selling Missile Technology to Iran
August 7, 2006 :: Financial Times :: News
The U.S. State Department has imposed sanctions on two Russian companies for selling missile technology to Iran. The state-controlled weapons exporter Rosoboronexport and the aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi had been exporting material that could contribute to the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iran or a cruise or ballistic missile system, said the State Department.
The two companies will be barred from engaging in business with the U.S. government and will be denied new export licenses for two years. Earlier this year, the Pentagon raised the problem of the Kremlin’s arms sales to countries that “compromise the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of other states.” Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had also said he was concerned that Russia was supplying arms to Iran and Syria.
The sanctions angered the Russian government, which responded that the move was an “illegitimate attempt to make foreign companies work by internal American rules” and that the U.S. was punishing its own companies by making it impossible for them to co-operate with leading Russian corporations. “These sanctions, which the U.S. unilaterally imposes on other countries and their organizations, are an obvious political and legal anachronism,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. The Financial Times notes that the head of Rosoboronexport, Sergei Chemezov, served as a KGB officer with Russian president Vladimir Putin in East Germany in the 1980s and has boasted that their relationship helped his company “get a lot of issues resolved fast.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Proliferation, Russia
Iran to Supply Hezbollah with Russian-Made Surface-to-Air Missiles
August 7, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Iran will supply Hezbollah with a number of Russian-made surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems over the coming months, reports the August 9 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly. The article quotes Western diplomatic sources who claim that Hezbollah has pressured Iran for “an array of more advanced weaponry, including more advanced SAM systems” in preparation “for the next stage in the confrontation.” In late July, Hezbollah representatives allegedly met with senior representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), at which time Iran agreed “at later date, to supply advanced Russian-made SAM systems to Hezbollah” as part of its strategy to “transform Hezbollah, after the current conflict, into a coherent fighting force and a regional strategic arm.” According to Jane’s, Tehran will supply Hezbollah with Russian-produced SAMs, including the Strela-2/2M (SA-7 “Grail”), Strela-3 (SA-14 “Gremlin”) and Igla-1E (SA-16 “Gimlet”) man-portable systems. Iran will also deliver its Mithaq-1 and Mithaq-2 man-portable low-altitude SAM systems, both of which are Iranian copies of the Chinese QW-1 man-portable low-altitude SAM system. (Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Proliferation, Russia, Terrorism
Iran Builds Homegrown Missile Industry
August 5, 2006 :: Bloomberg :: News
Iran is building up its own missile industry using Chinese and Russian technology, reports Bloomberg. The Islamic Republic began developing its manufacturing capabilities in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War. With the threat from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq now gone, Tehran has “every intention of becoming a major regional power,” according to William Cohen, secretary of defense under President Bill Clinton, and intends to become self-sufficient in the production of weaponry, in particular ballistic missiles. Iran therefore no longer simply relies on imports from China, Russia, and North Korea, and has become adept at copying or even improving on those countries’ technologies. “The Iranians are at a stage now where they can build most of these weapons themselves locally,” said Guy Ben-Ari, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Among Iran’s homemade missiles that it has exported to Hezbollah and perhaps other Islamic terrorist organizations are the Zelzal-2 short-range ballistic missile, which carries a 600-kilogram warhead; the Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 short-range ballistic missiles, which carry 90- and 175-kilogram warheads respectively; and the Noor (Tondar) radar-guided anti-ship cruise missile, an Iranian copy of the Chinese C-802 (CSS-N-8). (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Industry, Iran, Proliferation
» Missile details: Zelzal-1/2/3
Iran Admits Supplying Zelzal-2 Missiles to Hezbollah
August 5, 2006 :: Jerusalem Post :: News
Iran has admitted supplying Zelzal-2 short-range ballistic missiles to the Hezbollah terrorist organization, reports The Jerusalem Post. Mohtashami Pur, Secretary-General of the Iranian “Intifada Conference” told an Iranian newspaper yesterday that Iran transferred the missiles so that they could be used to defend Lebanon.
The Zelzal-2 (“earthquake” in Farsi) is believed to have a range of anywhere from 120 to 400 kilometers, and would be capable of striking Tel Aviv if launched successfully. The Israeli Defense Force estimates that it has destroyed almost two-thirds of Hezbollah’s Zelzal-2 arsenal, according to The Jerusalem Post. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Israel, Proliferation, Terrorism
» Missile details: Zelzal-1/2/3
Report: North Korea and Iran Collaborating on Missiles, Using Chinese Technology
August 4, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
North Korea has been working closely with Iran to develop its long-range ballistic missiles, using Chinese technology, according to a recent report by a state-run South Korean think tank. The report was produced by the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, and authored by Yun Deok-min. The collaboration is part of an international network, including Pakistan, that has made it possible for the impoverished North Korea to develop and deploy missiles despite scarce resources and limited testing. Pyongyang is believed to have built two underground missile bases in a mountainside in the central part of its land border with China. The bases “are located in positions that make them impossible to be attacked unless strikes come across the Chinese border, as they are positioned near the Sino-North Korea border and are in the mountainside,” the report said. The report also asserted that North Korea has been constructing new underground missile bases and silos along its east coast to deploy intermediate-range missiles aimed at Japan and U.S. military facilities.
During a Senate hearing last week, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton noted that, “There is, no doubt, a very extensive Chinese cooperation with the Iranian ballistic missile program.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Iran, North Korea, Proliferation
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
Richardson on Cruise Missile Proliferation
August 4, 2006 :: Canberra Times :: Analysis
“How did the [Chinese] C-802 [CSS-N-8] anti-ship cruise missile—rated by experts as among the most lethal in the world—get into Hezbollah’s hands?” asks Michael Richardson, a research fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore in today’s edition of The Canberra Times. He goes on to discuss the “extensive but little-known trade in increasingly sophisticated missiles that have the capacity to upset stability and the balance of power in conflict-prone areas of the world.” The supply trail runs from China to Iran and then into Lebanon either by sea or over land via Syria. Iran and Syria are Hezbollah’s allies against Israel and the U.S. China has used Israel as a military supplier in the past, but has political and energy interests in Iran and Syria that are now in conflict with those of Israel. The tale of the C-802, Richardson writes, “is a classic story about the dog-eat-dog nature of the global arms trade and the destabilising impact of weapons that are not effectively controlled by national regulation or international treaties and agreements.” At present, there is no ban on the proliferation of anti-ship cruise missiles such as the C-802. Richardson lays out a plausible and frightening scenario based on the disclosure early last year by officials of Ukraine’s recently installed democratic government of the illegal export of 20 Russian-made Kh-55SM cruise missiles, each with a range of 3,000 km:
The Kh-55 family of missiles is Russia’s main nuclear-armed cruise missile launched from the air by strategic bombers. The missiles, exported in 2000 and 2001, were diverted from Soviet stocks left behind after Ukraine declared independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The illicit sale took place despite the fact that Ukraine was an regime member. Twelve of the Kh-55SMs reportedly went to Iran, six to China and two to Pakistan. Iran is alleged to have paid nearly $US50million ($A65.5million) for its missiles.
None of the Kh-55SMs from Ukraine had their 200 kiloton nuclear warheads. But the deal included the system for testing, programming and launching the missiles which had been in service for a number of years. China and Pakistan, both declared nuclear powers, evidently wanted to strip the missiles to copy and incorporate its design, propulsion and guidance components into their own efforts to develop long-range cruise missiles—a process known as reverse engineering.
Iran, too, may have similar interests in using some of the Kh-55SMs as a shortcut for developing a derivative long-range cruise missile—one capable of striking Israel from some 1500 km away. But having a dozen of the missiles could also enable Iran to fit the weapon to its Soviet built Su-24 strike aircraft or fire it from ships or land-based truck launchers.
Robertson concludes: “The ultimate nightmare for Israel and the U.S. would be a Kh-55SM-type missile, armed with an Iranian nuclear warhead.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Analysis, China, Cruise Missiles, Iran, Proliferation
U.S. Sanctions Indian Firms for Missile-Related Proliferation to Iran
July 31, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
The U.S. will impose sanctions on two private Indian companies for missile-related transactions with Iran, reports Reuters. The identity of the Indian firms has not yet been released, although one U.S. official said that the transfers took place in the first half of 2005 and involved “dual-use items related to missiles.” Since 2003, the U.S. has filed at least eight non-proliferations sanctions against at least seven Indian companies or persons, not including the two new firms. By comparison, the U.S. has sanctioned Chinese companies 70 times over the past six years. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: India, Iran, Proliferation
MDA Considers Caucasus for Possible X-Band Radar Site
July 28, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has identified the Caucasus region as a possible location for the deployment of a mobile X-band radar, reports Jane’s Defence Weekly in the August 2 issue. Rick Lehner, an MDA spokesman, recently told Jane’s that the region would be a “good location for a small X-band radar to provide tracking and discrimination of missiles launched from Iran.” Lehner’s comments followed the release of an MDA fact sheet for Block 2008 development that referred to an unnamed country in the Caucasus as a potential site for transportable sensors. The disclosure has prompted speculation as to whether MDA is considering Georgia, which has extensive military cooperation with the U.S., or Azerbaijan, which shares a border with Iran and has reportedly received U.S. funds for the construction of two radar installations. (Link)
» More stories on: Former Soviet Republics, Iran, Detection and Tracking
