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10/18/09
US dakwa Malaysia bekal senjata ke Iran
Iran Miliki Senjata AS Lewat Distributor Malaysia
By Republika Newsroom
Senin, 14 September 2009
WASHINGTON--Iran meningkatkan peroleh perlatan dan teknologi militer buatan AS melalui distributor dari Malaysia lewat perdagangan ilegal, demikian menurut pejabat sekaligus pengamat militer AS.
Amerika Serikat sendiri telah mendakwa dan memvonis tahanan paling tidak dalam enam kasus yag melibatkan Malaysia sejak Agustus 2008. Pengiriman tersebut termasuk peralatan pengeboman dan beberapa item yang terkait progam peluru kendali balistik dan nuklir Iran, demikian menurut berkas pengadilan.
Kini pengangkutan dari Malaysia, menurut pejabat penegak hukum AS yang tak ingin diungkap namanya, tengah menjalani penyelidikan. Pengangkutan dan pengiriman peralatan militer itu menggambarkan betap sulitnya AS untuk tetap menjaga rahasia militer dan teknologi perang mereka menjangkau Iran, negara yang dituding AS mengembangkan senjata nuklir dan mensponsori terorisme. AS telah melarang hampir segala bentuk perdagangan dengan Iran.
Distributor senjata gelap itu juga beroperasi di kota Dubai, Uni Emirat Arab. Pengiriman melalui Malaysia meningkat setelah UEA membatasi ekspor ke Iran lebih dari setahun lalu, kata ketua deputi Departemen Kehakiman AS, divisi anti-mata-mata, Steven Pelak, di Washington.
"Kami sudah sering melihat kasus serupa, kini dialihkan lewat Malaysia," ujar Pelak dalam sebuah wawancara. "Kami tahu banyak perusahaan besar Iran di sana dan kami melihat ada peningkatan di sana sejak Dubai mengetatkan hubungan dagang dengan Iran,"
Barang-barang militer itu juga didagangkan secara ilegak le China, yang tengah mengusahakan memiliki teknologi kapal selam, pencitraan, semikonduktor dan peluru kendali buatan AS, demikian menurut laporan Departemen Pertahanan AS tahun ini. "Tudingan mata-mata terhadap China tidak berdasar," ujar jurubicara negara Tirai Bambu, Wang Baodong di kedutaan besar Cina, Washington.
Daftar Belanja
Pemerintah Iran membuat daftar belanja barang-barang yang diinginkan dan memberikan kepada distributor yang mencarinya di Paman Sam langsung atau di mana saja, demikian tutur Pelak. Ketika sebuah negara yang menjadi tuan rumah mediator perdagangan mengetatkan hubungan, pengiriman pun dialihkan ke mana pun," ujar pengamat sekaligus presiden Institut Sains dan Keamanan Internasional, David Albright, di Washington.
"Aktivitas di Malaysia memiliki ancaman," demikian ujar mantan pemeriksa senjata perang Irak, tersebut dalam sebuah wawancara. "Aktivitas itu membuat Iran mampu mengembangkan kemampuan militer dan nuklirnya," imbuh David.
Sementara, Perdana Menteri Malaysia, Najib Razak, menolah berkomentar mengenai kasus tersebut. Jurubicara dari kedutaan besar Malaysia di Washington, Afdal Hashim, juga tidak merespon saat dimintai keterangan lewat email maupun telepon. bloomberg/itz
Iran gains U.S. military technology through Malaysia middlemen
Monday, 14 September 2009
By Justin Blum
Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Iran increasingly is obtaining U.S. military equipment and technology through shipments to Malaysian middlemen that illegally circumvent trade restrictions, according to American officials and analysts.
The U.S. has charged, convicted or sentenced defendants in at least six cases involving Malaysia since August 2008. The shipments have included parts for bombers and items sent to firms linked to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, according to court papers. More Malaysia shipments are under investigation, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The shipments illustrate how difficult it is for U.S. law enforcement to keep military secrets and equipment from reaching Iran, a country the U.S. accuses of developing nuclear weapons and sponsoring terrorism. The U.S. bans most trade with Iran.
Middlemen also have operated out of the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. Shipments through Malaysia increased after the U.A.E. cracked down on exports more than a year ago, said Steven Pelak, the principal deputy chief of the Justice Department’s counterespionage section in Washington.
“We’ve seen a lot more being now diverted through Malaysia in particular,” Pelak said in an interview. “We have seen Iranian front companies there and we’ve seen an increase there since there’s been a tightening in Dubai.”
Military goods also have been illegally shipped to China, which has been trying to obtain missile, imaging, semiconductor and submarine technology from the U.S., according to a Defense Department report this year. Espionage allegations against China are “unwarranted,” said Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the country’s embassy in Washington.
Shopping List
The Iranian government creates a shopping list of items it wants and gives it to middlemen who seek the products in the U.S. and elsewhere, said Pelak.
When one country that is home to intermediaries cracks down, the shipments move elsewhere, said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington and a former Iraqi weapons inspector.
The activity in Malaysia “poses a threat,” Albright said in an interview. “It allows Iran to improve its military capabilities, nuclear capabilities.”
In a case unsealed last year, the Justice Department alleged that electronics were illegally sent from the U.S. to Iran through Dubai and Malaysia. Some of those electronics are the same type found in roadside bombs in Iraq.
U.S. Supplier
Shipments to Malaysia have increased, Albright said, because “it’s harder to do it from Dubai. You’re trying to get a U.S. supplier to send it to a false end user.”
The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 after militant Iranian students occupied the American embassy in Tehran in 1979.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak declined to comment, according to an aide. Afdal Hashim, a spokesman for the Malaysian embassy in Washington, didn’t respond to phone calls or an e-mail.
The U.S. companies that supply middlemen typically are closely held sole proprietorships, said Pelak.
In 2007, the U.S. brought charges against a larger company, defense contractor ITT Corp., based in White Plains, New York, for allowing the transfer to China of night-vision technology. The company agreed to pay $100 million and plead guilty to two criminal charges.
Military Items
The U.S. announced a crackdown in 2007 of illegal exports of restricted military technology and “dual-use” equipment with military and commercial applications.
The multiagency effort resulted in criminal charges against more than 145 defendants in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, a 32 percent increase from the year before. Nearly half of the 2008 cases involved munitions or other restricted items headed for Iran or China, according to the Justice Department.
Authorities increased enforcement after concluding other countries were taking advantage of the U.S. to develop their own militaries and compete economically, said David Szady, who retired as an assistant director of the counterintelligence division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2006. The FBI trained agents to better detect illegal exports of sensitive materials, he said in an interview.
Evertop Services
In a March criminal complaint, the U.S. said Iranian national Majid Kakavand oversaw an international network that purchased thousands of military and commercial items from U.S. companies and illegally sent them to Iran via Malaysia.
Recipients included two Iranian military firms that the U.S. says are linked to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to court papers.
Kakavand allegedly used a company in Malaysia called Evertop Services Sdn Bhd to purchase products for Iran from U.S. and European companies, according to court papers. Among the items were capacitors, spectrometers, resistors and airborne antennae. It’s unclear whether Evertop is still operating. The company couldn’t be located.
Kakavand concealed from the U.S. companies that the products were going to Iran, according to court papers. He was arrested in March in France. The U.S. is seeking his extradition.
The U.S. ambassador to Malaysia, James Keith, said in a February speech in Washington that Malaysia should create a strong system to control exports. A proposed law has been pending since 2004, he said.
“One reason this has become an increasingly urgent priority is trade diversion to Iran by entities who seek to exploit the Malaysian system,” Keith said, according to the prepared text of his speech. “Malaysia has more to contribute to international mechanisms to manage the flow of sensitive technology, including nuclear and missile-related equipment.”
IRAN increasingly is obtaining US military equipment and technology through shipments to Malaysian middlemen that illegally circumvent trade restrictions, according to American officials and analysts.
The US has charged, convicted or sentenced defendants in at least six cases involving Malaysia since August 2008. The shipments have included parts for bombers and items sent to firms linked to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program, court papers say.
More Malaysia shipments are under investigation, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The shipments illustrate how difficult it is for US law enforcement to keep military secrets and equipment from reaching Iran, a country the US accuses of developing nuclear weapons and sponsoring terrorism. The US bans most trade with Iran.
Middlemen also have operated out of the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai.
Steven Pelak, the principal deputy chief of the Justice Department's counter-espionage section in Washington, said shipments through Malaysia increased after the UAE cracked down on exports more than a year ago.
''We've seen a lot more being diverted now through Malaysia in particular,'' Mr Pelak said. ''We have seen Iranian front companies there and we've seen an increase there since there's been a tightening in Dubai.''
Military goods also have been illegally shipped to China, which has been trying to obtain missile, imaging, semiconductor and submarine technology from the US, according to a Defence Department report this year.
Espionage allegations against China are ''unwarranted,'' said Wang Baodong, a spokesman for China's embassy in Washington.
The Iranian Government creates a shopping list of items it wants and gives it to middlemen who seek the products in the US and elsewhere, Mr Pelak said.
When one country cracks down on intermediaries, the shipments move elsewhere, said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington and a former Iraqi weapons inspector.
The activity in Malaysia ''poses a threat,'' he said. ''It allows Iran to improve its military capabilities, nuclear capabilities.''
In a case unsealed last year, the Justice Department alleged that electronics were sent from the US to Iran through Dubai and Malaysia. Some of those electronics are the same type found in roadside bombs in Iraq.
Malaysia's Prime Minister, Najib Razak, declined to comment on the allegations.
In 2007 the defence contractor ITT Corp admitted to allowing the transfer to China of night-vision technology and was fined $US100 million.
Amid espionage allegations by the US against Malaysia, accusing it of playing the role of a middleman in helping Iran obtain US military equipment and technology through shipments, Chinese experts say the US should engage in serious self-reflection on why its military secrets reached Iran.
Li Bin, a professor at the Institute of International Studies at TsinghuaUniversity in Beijing, said the sale of US military technology to Iran through Malaysia, if confirmed, provides sufficient evidence that the US is lax in its law enforcement.
"The US has a law banning the sale of conventional weapons to Iran," he said. "Iran's access to US military technology shows that the US has violated its own commitment."
Professor Shen Dingli, from the Institute of International Studies at Shanghai's FudanUniversity, said Malaysia and Iran, both sovereign states, have the legitimate right to transfer military technology. "Iran is bound to comply with the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty," he said. "However, it does not prohibit Iran from developing its ballistic-missile program."
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that US officials claimed Iran is increasingly obtaining US military equipment through shipments to Malaysian middlemen that illegally circumvent trade restrictions.
US law enforcement officials said the US has charged, convicted or sentenced defendants in at least six cases involving Malaysia since August 2008. The shipments included parts for bombers and items sent to firms linked to Iran's nuclear and ballistic-missile program. More Malaysia shipments are under investigation, the Bloomberg report said.
Middlemen also have operated out of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Dubai. Shipments through Malaysia increased after the UAE cracked down on exports more than a year ago, according to Steven Pelak, the principal deputy chief of the US Justice Department's counterespionage section in Washington, the report said.
A US Defense Department report this year also said that military goods have been illegally shipped to China, which has been trying to obtain missile, imaging, semi-conductor and submarine technology from the US, Bloomberg reported.
"We cannot exclude the possibility that the US has intentionally arranged to have its military secrets sold to China out of needs to please China," Li said, "because the US has a long history of doing so."
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