40 IRANIAN FIRMS BLACKLISTED IN UK
Brian Brady

The Scotsman, UK
April 9 2006

Westminster Editor (bdbrady@scotlandonsunday.com)

THERE are 43 names. The great and the good of Iran’s industrial
and scientific community, the obscure, the famous and, perhaps,
the infamous.

Their titles were quietly released into the public domain for the
first time only days ago by the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) in a swift operation claiming to be merely giving British firms
updated guidance on the trading situation with Tehran.

It was, in fact, far more important than that. The British government
is effectively blacklisting dozens of Iranian entities, including
state bodies like Tehran University. In a climate of rising concerns
about the intentions of Iranian leaders and their advancing nuclear
programme – criticised by foreign secretary Jack Straw last month,
who warned Tehran of possible sanctions if it failed to heed UN
Security Council demands to halt its production of enriched uranium –
this was a clear demonstration of how deeply those fears are felt.

Across Europe and much of the western world the fears about Tehran’s
intentions are growing. Two weeks ago, customs investigators marched
into the business premises of the German-Armenian partnership NTV,
in the infamous “millionaires’ neighbourhood” of Bad Homburg, and
began seizing documents about its dealings with Iran.

The swoop was not an isolated case: 40 more German companies
of varying sizes and interests were caught up in the nationwide
operation, carried out by 250 police and customs officials. They
were all suspected of involvement in a German-Russian network that
may have helped the Iranians advance a nuclear programme that the
West now fears only military action can dismantle.

NTV, a nondescript telecommunications firm owned by a colourful
business partnership obsessed with racehorse breeding and gambling,
had reportedly arranged for a cable drum to be dispatched to an
Iranian weapons importer.

The firm, and its owners, attracted the attention of the a public
prosecutor. In turn he realised there was a connection to the
activities of the defunct Berlin firm Vero Handels GmbH, which is now
suspected of having scoured Germany for special parts for construction
of the Iranian Bushehr nuclear reactor.

As their colleagues throughout Germany were stomping into 41 companies
last month, officials at the Department of Trade and Industry in London
were attempting to tighten the net around their own business community.

Britain has had an arms embargo against Iran in place for 13 years.

The policy, amended by Robin Cook as Foreign Secretary in 1998,
purports to prevent all items on the “military list” or “nuclear list”
leaving these shores bound for Tehran.

The sanctions do not, however, prohibit all business between the
two countries. In the final three months of last year, for example,
British firms got DTI approval for £3m-worth of exports, covering a
list of items including biotechnology equipment, civil aircraft and
gas detection equipment.

And here is the problem: a number of items are acknowledged to be
“dual-use” – able to be applied for both fair and foul means –
but licences are often granted as long as exporters can convince
the authorities that they will be used for industrial or research
purposes. The “end-use” monitoring system, which effectively places
firms on trust, has long been the target of condemnation by campaigners
against arms trading.

The DTI’s switch in policy towards Iran last month attempted
to tackle this issue at source. Via an understated announcement
on its website, the DTI offshoot the Export Control Organisation
(ECO) revealed it was extending its guidance to would-be exporters,
“given the current concerns about Iran in particular”. Along with
the amendments, the bureaucrats added “a list of Iranian entities”
intended to help exporters “judge which exports might potentially be
of concern on end use grounds”.

The sense of foreboding is overpowering. Despite the ECO’s determined
attempts to underplay the move, a cursory glance at the list of Iranian
“entities” now effectively blacklisted by the British government
reveals the gravity of the situation.

Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, Esfahan Chemical Industries,
Government of Iran, Department of Defence, Iranian Mineral Processing
Research Centre, Nuclear Research Centre for Agriculture And Medicine,
and Tehran University. Most worryingly, given the DTI’s recently
discovered concerns about these organisations, 12 of the 43 have
already taken delivery of goods from Britain in the past.

“The purpose of a list there is to alert UK exporters to end-users
that we are concerned about in Iran,” trade minister Malcolm Wicks
said when asked about controls over exports to Iran. “That is an
example of how, when there is a concern, we disseminate that concern
to appropriate companies.”

Such concern does not, yet, translate itself into harsh demands for
compliance from British business – nor suggest that the government
itself will be making an enormous effort to tighten the net. “This
information may be factored into your business planning and help
you to make informed decisions on whether to contact the ECO,” the
organisation’s guidance adds. “The list may be amended from time to
time and should be checked regularly if you are planning business
with Iran.”

The approach contrasts sharply with that of the Americans, who maintain
a comprehensive embargo on business with Iran, and come down heavily
upon anyone suspected of helping a key element of the “axis of evil”
augment their offensive powers.

~U IT WAS reported last night that US President George Bush is making
plans for a large scale bombing strike on Iran, targeting sites where
uranium is thought to be enriched.

The use of force is being considered in case diplomatic efforts to
persuade Tehran to stop its nuclear programme fail.

This article: 62006

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress