Iran seemed most offended at the report saying it was working on missiles with North Korea. It promptly denounced the report, saying Iran is completely self-sufficient in missile technology and doesn’t need anyone’s help.
The Islamic Republic is adamant about its self-sufficiency claims and seems most hurt when others say it is dependent on outside help for its technology. “There are fabrications,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said. “Iran’s technology and capability are advanced enough that we do not need other countries to provide us technology or components.”
The Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun said 200 North Korean experts are assigned in Iran to help the Iranian military.
The other report, dealing with Iranian arms sales, did not answer the key question: Where were the arms that Nigeria uncovered in its main port last year headed? The report simply said the shipment violated the UN ban on Iranian arms exports.
The report said most arms deliveries that have been uncovered have been destined for Syria to give to Hezbollah. That was not new, however.
The two reports were leaked over the last week. They have not been released and may never be. The report on arms sales was blocked by Russia, presumably to protect Syria. The report on shared missile technology was blocked by China, which has blocked reports critical of North Korea in the past.
The reports come from the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee, which was investigating violations of the UN sanctions on Iran and North Korea. Both countries are barred from exporting arms and military technology.
The arms transfer report said only nine incidents of Iranian sales of conventional arms had been reported to the UN, with six of them being sales to Syria.
On Iranian efforts to buy equipment to boost its nuclear and missile technology, the report said UN sanctions were “constraining” Iran’s ability to get what it needs, but not stopping its purchases. The sanctions are “slowing Iran’s nuclear program but are not yet having an impact on the decision calculus of its leadership with respect to halting uranium enrichment and heavy water-related activities.”
In a key point, the report said Iran appears to be exhausting its supply of uranium ore and may soon need new supplies from abroad to keep its enrichment program going. There have been reports in the last year of Iran trying to reach uranium-mining agreements with other countries.
