Iranian Shihab missile. Chinese helped
Photo: AFP
U.S. sanctions Iran's aides
American government to penalize companies that traded arms with Iran, helped country develop ballistic capacities
The United States recently imposed sanctions on companies involved in selling missile goods and chemical-arms materials to Iran, The Washington Times reported Tuesday.
Approved by Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick, the sanctions cover six Chinese government-run companies, two Indian firms and one Austrian company, according to officials.
Nuclear Threat
Ilan Marciano
Mossad Chief Meir Dagan says during Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting, ‘Iranian strategic decision to reach nuclear independence exists; they won't stop when they reach the level which would supply one bomb, but will continue and create more fissionable material’
The sanctions were imposed under the Iran Nonproliferation Act, which Congress passed in 2000 to deter international support for Iran's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and missile-delivery systems.
The penalties, which will be in effect for two years, prohibit the companies from doing business with the American government, and bar U.S. companies from selling products to these companies.
Toughening up policy
According to The Washington Times, the sanctions are part of a more hard-line American policy aimed at targeting companies engaged in helping rogue countries obtaining arms' technology.
Until now, 40 companies and people have been punished since 2001.
The sanctions follow other diplomatic steps taken by the U.S., which according to the Times failed to influence the Chinese government.
China has continued to support the Iranian ploy to develop missiles and mass destruction weapons despite these moves.
The three Chinese companies involved in the arms' trade are all government-owned, and were defined as "serial proliferators" by U.S. officials.
The CIA reported last year that China's assistance to Iran helped the country move toward gaining the capacity to manufacture ballistic missiles independently, the Times stated in its report.
