Tag Archives: Iran
10 September 2012
The State Department of the United States (US) stated that Iraq is obliged under United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions to require Iranian planes, which are suspected to be flying arms into Syria over Iraqi airspace, to land in Iraq so that the cargo can be examined.
Iranian flights over Iraqi airspace were suspended in March, after the US objected, but flights resumed in July. According to US intelligence, these flights were carrying military equipment and weapons. Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki stated he was assured by Iran that these flights only carried humanitarian aid.
Source: New York Times | U.S. Presses Iraq on Iranian Planes Thought to Carry Arms to Syria
3 September 2012
According to prosecutors from the United States (US), there is evidence that Chinese banks may have disregarded the financial sanctions imposed on Iran. Chinese banks are suspected of moving large amounts of dollars on behalf of Iranian companies and banks. Last month, the US imposed sanctions against the ‘Bank of Kunlun’, because the bank ‘facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of Iranian banks.’
Source: New York Times | Prosecutors Link Money From China to Iran
20 August 2012
According to former and current Iraqi and United States government officials and experts on the Iraqi banking sector, Iraq has been aiding Iran to circumvent international financial sanctions, imposed on Iran because of its nuclear program.
One bank, the Elaf Islamic Bank in Baghdad was barred from any dealings with the banking system of the United States. According to President Obama, this bank has ‘facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of Iranian banks that are subject to sanctions for their links to Iran’s illicit proliferation activities’.
Iranian organizations gained, according to said sources, ‘effective control over at least four Iraqi commercial banks through Iraqi intermediaries’, giving Iran access to the international financial system.
Source: New York Times | U.S. Says Iraqis Are Helping Iran to Skirt Sanctions
17 August 2012
On Thursday, 16 August 2012, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) decided to suspend Syrian membership in the organization. The decision was taken in reaction to President Bashar al-Assad’s continuous suppression of the Syrian revolt. Iran was the only member to oppose the decision, claiming that it was contrary to the OIC Charter.
Source: Reuters | Organization of Islamic Cooperation suspends Syria
10 June 2012
Security researchers think a data-mining computer virus named ‘Flame’ is sponsored by the same entities that ordered the ‘Stuxnet’ virus. In 2010, the Stuxnet virus, which was co-sponsored by Israel and the United States, severely damaged centrifuges in Iran that were used for Iran’s nuclear programme.
Source: Bits | Google Issues New Warning for State-Sponsored Attacks
Source: New York Times | Expert Issues a Cyberwar Warning