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Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri has given his nation's government sensitive details on CIA operations, including the identities of a number of people and facilities linked to the spy agency, Iranian state media reported yesterday (see GSN, July 20).
Amiri disappeared in May of last year during a trip to Saudi Arabia. News reports in the United States said he had defected and was supporting CIA activities against Tehran's nuclear program, which Washington suspects is geared toward weapons development. Tehran maintained Amiri was abducted; the government has denied harboring any military ambitions for its atomic activities. The scientist returned to Iran this month, claiming he had been kidnapped.
"This was an intelligence battle between the CIA and us that was designed and managed by Iran," Iran's Fars News Agency quoted a source as saying, according to the Associated Press. "We had set various goals in this battle and, by the grace of God, we achieved all our objectives without our rival getting any real victory."
"We sought to obtain good information from inside the CIA. While Amiri was still in the U.S., we managed to establish contact with him in early 2010 and obtained very valuable information accordingly. He was managed and guided (by us)," the source said.
"Iran's intelligence agencies now possess valuable details from inside the CIA, which is a great victory," said the source, who provided license plate numbers for two cars said to be used by the agency in Virginia.
The Iranian resistance group People's Mujahedeen and other entities have exploited the CIA through extortion, the source added (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Google News, July 21).
Meanwhile, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro yesterday said her agency was preparing new rules to permit easier divestment from firms doing business with Iran, Agence France-Presse reported.
The changes would "make it clear that an investment company cannot be sued for divesting itself from stocks of companies that deal with Iran," Schapiro said.
"There are punitive sanctions that can be levied against companies that violate the Iran Sanctions Act," Schapiro said. "That can create material contingent liabilities that need to be disclosed by public companies."
In addition, the rules would seek to provide additional transparency on entities targeted by penalties (Agence France-Presse/Google News, July 20).
“U.S. investors need to know if the companies and funds in which they are investing face potential Iran-related sanctions, and U.S. firms need equally to recognize their fiduciary obligations to investors,”
Representative Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to Schapiro.
“Accordingly, I believe it is incumbent upon the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure that this information is prominently and effectively promulgated to the public by all firms and funds listed on U.S. exchanges. The SEC has a vital role to play in making certain that participants in our financial markets have the information they need to determine if their investments are at risk due to non-compliance with U.S. laws relating to Iran. I believe prompt SEC action is needed to ameliorate these risks,” Ackerman said (U.S. Representative Gary Ackerman release, July 20).
Iranian shipping companies have seen a major decrease in business as major Western insurance groups have reacted to the new sanctions, the Washington Post reported.
"Iranian-flagged ships are facing problems all over the world as they currently have no insurance coverage because of the new sanctions," said Mohammad Rounaghi, deputy manager of the Iranian firm Sea Pars. "Basically, most ports will refuse them entry if they are not covered for possible damages."
Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines head Mohammad Hussein Dajmar countered that the penalties were having little impact. "The world has many ports. We will sail to those nations that want to do business with us," he said (Erdbrink/Lynch, Washington Post, July 21).
Russia has reaffirmed its opposition to penalties adopted independently against Iran by Western powers, Interfax reported yesterday.
"We categorically oppose additional sanctions by the United States, introduced in excess of the sanctions, imposed by the U.N. Security Council," Russian Ambassador to Iran Alexander Sadovnikov told Russia Today. The Security Council last month enacted its fourth Iran sanctions resolution. Afterward, the United States and European Union moved forward with their own penalties.
"We see the EU-imposed additional sanctions as absolutely unacceptable," Sadovnikov said.
"These steps could prove counterproductive as they incite a reaction," he added (Interfax, July 20).
Shipping Russia's S-300 missile defense system to Iran would violate U.N. sanctions against the Middle Eastern country, a high-level military official told the Russian news agency. The Kremlin has yet to deliver a promised clarification on what weapon shipments are restricted under the penalties.
Some Israeli military officials believe the S-300 system could hinder Jerusalem's ability to launch airstrikes on Iran, while others believe the system could be rendered harmless by electronic means, the Jerusalem Post reported (Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, July 21).