Two men based in the Los Angeles area were arrested on October 26, 2016 on federal charges related to a conspiracy to export military aircraft parts and other defense items to…
Export Controls & Sanctions
The Wisconsin Project conducts research and advocacy to support robust controls on strategic goods and enforcement of autonomous and international sanctions. Export controls and sanctions are powerful means of inhibiting the spread of technologies used to make weapons of mass destruction. Listed below is a selection of the Wisconsin Project’s work in these areas, including analysis of export control enforcement cases, Iran sanctions violations, and commentary on U.S. export control policy.
Iranian Arms Shipments to Yemen Violate U.N. Resolutions
The United States and its allies have interdicted five separate weapons shipments from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen since April 2015—shipments that violate U. N. Security Council resolutions. According…
Turkey Transshipment Chronology – 2000-2016
Turkey has emerged as a destination of concern for transshipment to countries involved in proliferation.
Another Iranian Bank Receives Early Sanctions Relief
Another Iranian bank has received sanctions relief earlier than anticipated under the nuclear deal with Iran. The European Union’s sanctions on state-owned Bank Saderat Iran and its London-based subsidiary, BankSaderat…
U.S. Surrenders Powerful Financial Weapon to Counter Iran’s Missile Program
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration secretly agreed to lift United Nations sanctions on two of Iran’s missile financing institutions as part of a package…
Quietly, U.N. Signals Violation by Iran of New Resolution
According to a July 2016 report by the U.N. Secretary General, Iranian firms participated in a defense trade show in Iraq last March, in potential violation of U. N. Security…
Canadian-Iranian Businessman Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy to Ship U.S. Electronics to Iran
Ali Reza Parsa, a businessman with dual Iranian and Canadian citizenship, pleaded guilty in federal court in January 2016 to conspiring to ship U.S.-origin electronic components from the United States to…
Iran Air, Prospective Buyer of Boeing Planes, Linked to North Korean Missile Shipments
The House of Representatives approved two measures last week aimed at blocking Boeing from selling commercial aircraft to Iran. The vote comes a few weeks after Boeing announced a preliminary…
Treasury Gives New Guidance, but Banks Still Wary
The U.S. Treasury Department released new guidance on June 8 that appears intended to reassure European and other non-U.S. banks wary of doing business with Iran. In an updated explanatory…
Missile Sanctions Must Target Iran’s Suppliers
On May 9, a senior Iranian defense official announced the recent test of “a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and a margin of error of 8 meters.”[1] Iran’s…