Iran needs carbon fiber for the more advanced centrifuges it is planning to build to enrich uranium; that is the reason its sale to Iran was banned by the United Nations.
Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said, “Because of the restrictions imposed by our enemies, Iran faces challenges in gaining access to carbon fiber. That caused a bottleneck in Iran’s production of advanced and smart defense systems.”
He did not mention centrifuges. He said carbon fiber would be used in such defense systems as rocket engine nozzle heat shields, wings and other parts of jet fighters, the body of light weapons, and in composite materials for motors in solid-fueled measles.
Vahidi spoke as he inaugurated what he described as a carbon fiber manufacturing line at the Aerospace Industries Organization.
Some suspected the announcement was actually intended as a ruse, part of an effort to make it easier for Iran to obtain carbon fiber abroad illicitly by saying it no longer needed to import any.
Carbon fiber is not widely manufactured, partly because of difficulty, but chiefly because of limited demand and great expense. Few doubt that Iran could manufacture carbon fiber if it chose to do so. But the cost for the limited runs Iran would require would likely be huge.
Vahidi said only 10 countries make carbon fiber. The Iran Times could not verify that number.
Carbon fiber is a material consisting of extremely thin fibers that make a hair appear fat. It is composed mostly of carbon atoms that are bonded together in microscopic crystals. The crystal alignment makes the fiber very strong for its size. Several thousand carbon fibers are twisted together to form a yarn, which can be woven into a fabric.
The properties of carbon fibers are high flexibility, high tensile strength, low weight, high temperature tolerance and limited expansion when heated. This makes them popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, and competitive sports. However, they are much more expensive than glass fibers or plastic fibers.
Meanwhile, the Seuddeutsche Zeitung of Germany reported that North Korea, which has already exploded two atomic bombs, has increased its dealings with Iran in the nuclear realm.
It said Iran had paid North Korea $100 million for nuclear assistance.
Most recently, the German daily reported, North Korea delivered to Iran American software that simulates neutron flows, a process of the chain reaction necessary to design nuclear power reactors as well develop nuclear weapons.