Treasury Designates Iranian Nuke, Missile Entities

Treasury Designates Iranian Nuclear and Missile Entities

Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated five entities for their ties to Iran's nuclear and missile programs. All five designees are owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, entities that have been designated by the United States or the United Nations Security Council.

The entities designated today are the Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine (a/k/a Karaj Nuclear Research Center), the Esfahan Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center (NFRPC), Jabber Ibn Hayan, Safety Equipment Procurement Company (SEP Co.) and Joza Industrial Company.

"Responsible financial institutions and businesses worldwide are taking steps to avoid doing business with Iranian nuclear and missile entities, as well as with the front companies and cut-outs the Iranian regime uses to disguise its activities," said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. "These five nuclear and missile entities have been used by Iran to hide its illicit conduct and further its dangerous nuclear ambitions."

This action was taken pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which is aimed at freezing the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters, and at isolating them from the U.S. financial and commercial systems. Designations under E.O. 13382 are implemented by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and they prohibit all transactions between the designees and any U.S. person, and freeze any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

The Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine, the NFRPC, and Jabber Ibn Hayan have been designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 because they are owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

President George W. Bush in June 2005 identified the AEOI in the Annex to E.O. 13382. The AEOI, which directly reports to the Iranian President, is the main Iranian organization for research and development activities in the field of nuclear technology, including Iran's centrifuge enrichment program, and manages Iran's overall nuclear program. The AEOI was designated by the United Nations in the Annex to UN Security Council Resolution 1737 for its role in Iran's nuclear program.

The Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine at Karaj is a large AEOI research component. The NFRPC is AEOI's center for the development of nuclear fuel, involved in enrichment-related activities. The NFRPC's uranium conversion facility, in operation since 2005, can produce most of the uranium compounds needed for fuel cycle activities. Uranium conversion is an essential step for the creation of nuclear fuel. Jabber Ibn Hayan, also part of AEOI, is involved in the field of research and development in the nuclear cycle, in addition to providing a wide range of laboratory services for the AEOI nuclear production division.

President Bush also identified Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) and the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG) in the Annex to E.O. 13382. AIO is the overall manager of Iran's missile program and oversees all of Iran's missile industries. SHIG is responsible for Iran's ballistic missile programs, most notably the Shahab series of medium-range ballistic missiles. AIO and its subordinate elements, such as SHIG, often use front companies to access foreign technology and raw materials for the development of Iran's missile program.

SEP Co. has been designated today for acting, or purporting to act for, or on behalf of AIO. AIO has been using SEP Co. to procure on its behalf since at least 2003. Joza Industrial Company has also been designated today for acting or purporting to act for, or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, SHIG. In an effort to evade sanctions and obscure its procurement efforts, SHIG utilizes a series of front companies, including the Joza Industrial Company, to purchase goods and materials.

All five of the entities designated today have also been previously designated by the United Nations. The Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine and the NFRPC were both designated by the United Nations in the Annex to Resolution 1747 for their involvement in Iran's nuclear activities. Jabber Ibn Hayan, Joza Industrial Company, and SEP Co. were designated by the United Nations in Annex III to Resolution 1803.

August 12, 2008
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ENDS

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