British Arms Dealers Arming Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Air Force

I guess after all this time; with all that’s transpired over the past seven years, I shouldn’t be at all surprised by this dubious development, and in fact, British arms dealers selling their wares to Iran doesn’t really surprise me at all. What does surprise me is that U.S. arms dealers aren’t involved as well.

British investigators have recently identified a number of national arms dealers trading with Tehran. The investigations have sounded alarms with various government officials, who along with the Bush regime fear the arms deals are also fueling Iran’s supposed nuclear arms program.

At least seven Britons have defied the latest [3rd] round of sanctions imposed by the United Nations on exporting arms, supplying Iranian entities such as the air force and the elite Republican Guard Corps. The Brits in question have also reportedly sold parts that would enhance Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Investigators argue that it is the generous riches being offered by Iran, not any shared ideology that is seducing the dealers.

Money, money money.

The breadth and scope of the violations uncovered is stunning.

• a businessman caught smuggling components used in guided missiles through a front company that proved to be the Iranian Ministry of Defence.
• a group including several Britons who attempted to export components that could enhance the performance of Iranian aircraft.
• a British millionaire arms dealer caught trading machine guns used by the Special Air Services(SAS) with a Tehran based weapons smuggler, capable of firing 800 rounds per minute.

The U.K.’s Guardian has the story:

Customs offers are also working on a number of 'active investigations' which include several Britons and breach sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's military strength.

At least two other UK nationals are also being investigated over claims they are working, or have worked with, Iran to import components for the country's alleged nuclear weapons programme. These individuals are understood to have long-standing links to nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan's 'father of the bomb', who has admitted helping North Korea, Iran and Libya to develop nuclear weapons.

A Foreign Office source said evidence that Iranian authorities are contacting British companies as it tries to circumvent sanctions 'through the backdoor' was a concern. 'We shouldn't be naive enough to know that [Iran] will not try to get these items,' he added.

Among those identified are London businessman Mehrdad Salashoor, who was caught shipping hi-tech navigation equipment adaptable for missile guidance systems to the Iranian military. When the 56-year-old asked British authorities about the licenses required to export 11 'gyrocompass' devices worth £650,000 to Azerbaijan he was informed that he would require a special export license.

Well, as it turns out, Salashoor went ahead and sent the consignment without license to Malta with shipping instructions to forward the load to an Iranian company that turned out to be the Iranian Ministry of Defense. Salashoor is also believed to have received arms orders from the Iranian air force and navy.

The operation was conducted under the auspices of the missile technology control regime, an arrangement involving 34 countries and aimed at tackling 'weapons of mass destruction'. Salashoor has been jailed for 18 months and told to surrender more than £430,000 in assets. Anxiety mounted recently after satellite imagery appeared to indicate a previously unknown facility in its long-range missile programme.

One of Britain’s most experienced arms dealers, John Knight, has been jailed for four years after attempting to make a sale involving the sale of 130 machine guns. The deal was to be traded through an offshore company, Endeavor Resources, based in the British Virgin Islands.

The audaciousness exhibited by these Brits is disconcerting to say the least. It makes me wonder just how many other weapons dealers around the world are willing to do the same thing. The relatively lenient penalties imposed in these cases could be written off as the cost of doing business.

If Iran is indeed the threat that Bush and his European allies are trying to make them out to be, and these businessmen are selling weapons to Iranians who are supposedly killing hundreds of American and British soldiers in this so called "proxy war" [as so declared by Joe Lieberbush and others] then why aren’t the penalties harsher?

Trust us.

Peace