Science and Technology

RFL/RE – The United States has charged four Chinese nationals with illegally exporting dual-use U.S. electronic components to Iran over several years. The four individuals smuggled the technology via China and Hong Kong to entities affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), the U.S. Justice Department said in a …

VOA – Iran said Sunday it successfully launched three satellites into space, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles.The state-run IRNA news agency said the launch also saw the successful use of Iran’s Simorgh rocket, which has had multiple failures in the past. The launch comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East …

iranintl – Iran International can reveal that the Islamic Republic’s Intelligence Ministry conducts cyberattacks against Israeli civilian targets via a cover tech company. The cyber group “Black Shadow” (“Saye-ye Siah” in Persian), which targeted Ziv Medical Center in the northern Israeli city of Safed in November is in fact a tech company which works under the registered name of “Raahkarha-ye …

iranintl – Amid international concerns about the proliferation of Iranian drones, the Islamic Republic is scaling up, including supplying Sudan and launching drone carriers. Maritime news website Splash247 reported this week that Iran is readying to launch its first drone carrier, the Shahid Bagheri, a converted boxship — previously called Sarvin — that has undergone modifications to accommodate a large …

RFL/RE – France, Germany, and Britain on January 26 condemned Iran’s launch of the Soraya satellite last week using the Ghaem-100 Space Launch Vehicle (SLV). The SLV uses technology essential for the development of a long-range ballistic missile system, which could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range weapons, the countries said in a joint statement. “We remain committed to taking …

Al-Arabia – Iran has supplied Sudan’s army with combat drones, taking sides in a disastrous civil war fueled by proxies keen for Red Sea access that has displaced millions and risks destabilizing the wider region, according to senior Western officials. Iran’s intervention in the nine-month conflict on the side of the military, which has lost swathes of territory to a …

Iranwire – The United States is offering up to $15 million for information regarding Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, an Iranian businessman alleged to have helped acquire technology for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s weapons programs. “Since 2014, Ardakani has used his network of intermediary companies, including Malaysia- and Hong Kong-based front companies and UAE logistics businesses, to procure and to facilitate …

iranintl – Iran announced Saturday a ‘new record’ satellite launch as part of its space program that many fear could be a cover for the regime to expand it ballistic missile program. Official Iranian news agencies published images of a rocket blasting off, claiming that it carried and placed a homemade satellite to an orbit 750 kilometers above earth. The …

RFL/RE – Iran has showcased its advancing missile and drone capabilities in a demonstration of the lengths it can take to strike perceived threats. But in targeting extremist groups and an alleged spy base in neighboring countries, Tehran also showed there are limits to how far it is willing to go for now.The strikes launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards …

VOA – Iran said Saturday it had conducted a successful satellite launch into its highest orbit yet, the latest for a program the West fears improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles. The announcement comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and just days after Iran and Pakistan engaged in tit-for-tat …