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UNITED NATIONS – An expert panel monitoring U.N. sanctions on Iran has reportedthat Syria continues to be the main destination of illicit Iranianweapons, a Security Council diplomat said Wednesday. The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because thepanel's report has not been released, said it identified three newillegal shipments, two involving Syria which was also the previousdestination of a majority of Iranian arms shipments. It said there was "a high probability" that the third largeshipment of rockets originated in Iran, the diplomat said. Britainreported last year that the rocket shipment was destined forTaliban militants in Afghanistan. "Syria continues to be the central party to illicit Iranian armstransfers," the diplomat, who has seen the report, quoted it assaying. The report to the U.N. Security Council committee monitoringsanctions is expected to be discussed by the 15 council members andcould be changed before it is finalized. The diplomat said alleight experts on the panel signed off on it. The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions on Iran inDecember 2006 and has been ratcheting up the punitive measuressince then in hopes of pressuring the government to suspend uraniumenrichment and start negotiations on its nuclear program. Butdespite four rounds of sanctions, Iran has refused to do so.Enriched uranium can be used to make both nuclear fuel and nuclearweapons material. Iran insists its nuclear program is purely peaceful and aimedsolely at producing nuclear energy. The report coincides with a new round of talks in Baghdad next weekbetween Iran and the six-nation group comprising the permanent U.N.Security Council members plus Germany on its nuclear program. The diplomat said the report cites efforts by Iran to try tocircumvent sanctions by constantly change the ownership, names andflags of ships from companies that are under U.N. sanctions. Itsaid these changes "are suited to obscuring the identity ofvessels" and it is likely that maritime shipments of prohibiteditems are continuing, the diplomat said. It has also been using front companies, concealing the end use andend users of items, falsifying documents, reaching out to multiplesuppliers for the same item, and using the Iranian diaspora toprocure banned items, the diplomat said. The panel said Iranian financial transactions using money transferbusinesses known as hawalas, its cash transfers, and barter tradehave all increased, the diplomat said. The report said the panel was informed of "the case of a smallnon-financial firm led by an expatriate Iranian that hadtransformed itself into a company involved in transferring fundsreceived from a non-sanctioned Iranian bank to a variety ofrecipients through the world," the diplomat said. It said "$11 billion had been processed over 18 months" by thisfirm, the diplomat said. "Understanding whether and how the above-described methods could beused for financing procurement for sanctioned nuclear and ballisticprograms is challenging," the diplomat quoted the panel as saying. I am an expert from circular-polarized-3dglasses.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Universal Active Shutter 3D Glasses , Solar Eclipse Glasses, Linear Polarized 3D Glasses,and more.
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